


Agents of SHIELD - Operation Exiles: Volume 5 "Worlds Enough and Time"

by kamenrangerxvi01



Series: Agents of SHIELD: The EXILES Saga [5]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Becoming a family, Dimension Travel, F/F, F/M, Gen, Parallel Universes, Post Inifinity War, Post SHILED season 5, bioquake, skimmons - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-12-11
Packaged: 2019-08-06 20:24:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 33
Words: 23,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16394486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kamenrangerxvi01/pseuds/kamenrangerxvi01
Summary: The team is reunited, the truth in the open, relationships mended and one last goal to complete; saving the world from the Siltavions.





	1. There will be a quiz on this later...

Zephyr Zero slowly lowered itself into the Lighthouse’s landing bay, next to its bigger namesake. May, Mack and Enoch, who’d taken off the Coulson mask, were waiting for them as they stepped down. Daisy marched right for May and Mack.

“WHY?” She screamed with tears in her eyes “why? Why did you get my hopes up he was back?”

“Daisy… I’m sorry…” May began

“I’m sorry’ doesn’t cut it!” Daisy yelled. Scott put his hand on her shoulder to try to calm her down.

“It was necessary.” Enoch said, “The woman who sent me said she could not go into details.”

 

“I can.” Scott said, stepping forward.

“Agent Riley” May said, taking note of his eyes “I take it Robin’s drawings came true?”

“Unfortunately.” He said “Turns out… I’m part alien…”

 

“So, here’s the long version.” Scott told them as they stood around in the main room “The Siltavion were a sizeable interstellar power house in the Andromeda Galaxy. They tended to keep to themselves, mostly out of feeling they are superior to everyone else. So much so they only ever refer to all other species as ‘Gulten’, their world for alien, followed by a numerical. Humans are Gulten 2/229/3/1. The primary intelligent race on the third planet of the 229th solar system they’ve explored in the second galaxy.

“Their society uses Gravitoium in such a way it might rival Wakanda’s societal dependence on Vibranium. At some point in the near future, their ship will swing past earth. Something happens that results in them getting cast through spacetime, ending up on the other Earth. Well, the front half of their ship.”

“Their ship’s Faster-Than-Light drive was lost in this incident?” Enoch asked

“Precisely.” Scott said, nodding.

“They arrived in orbit over earth during WWII. Once they started working with President Rogers, they had the ship buried under the bottom of the Potomac.”

“How did they do that?” Mack asked.

“That I don’t know.” Scott admitted “Grandma is the equivalent of a biochemist, not exactly and engineer. All she did say is that our Gravitonium supply is not of a sufficient purity for them to use. It needs refinement. Unfortunately, that refinement process yields two things. One useable gram for every metric ton loaded in, and a shit ton of environmental damage.”

“That’s what the factories the other me described were for?” May asked.

Scott nodded.

“They have been at this for seventy years and barely have enough of the stuff to break lightspeed. They wouldn’t get home for several million years and they’re in a bit of a hurry.

“You might have noticed I discussed them in the past tense. Well, it seems after the ship left, a powerful enemy came along to conquer most of their empire. As far as they know, they might just be the last of their kind.”

“What did Coulson have to do with any of this?” Daisy asked, still mad.

“I’m sorry I didn’t explain it,” Scott said “But… It would seem the Tallus on the ship predicted that Coulson would be the one to stop them, there was no circumstance where they could win. So, being much more long lived than humans, they decided to wait it out, like that Asguardian once said. So, grandma told Enoch to masquerade as Coulson to buy us time.”

“So now what?” Mack asked

“Mysiri was massing for an invasion.” Daisy said “I saw it all. But she knows that between us and the Avengers, her forces wouldn’t have stood a chance, so we might still have the upper hand.”

“For now…” May said.

 

Scott found Skye outside the med bay.

“So..?” Skye asked as she looked through the glass into the room where Jemma and the other medical staff were examining Jas and the newborns.

“Everyone is up to speed, now we work on a plan to get oursevels out of this mess for good.”

He stepped up behind her and looked in the room

 “You OK?” He asked

“Yeah, they looked me over. Said everything is fine.”

“You’re sure?”

Skye just nodded.

“Have you given any thought to what you’re going to do with yourselves?” Scott asked “I do have a lot of stuff to dig through still at the Museum. Want a job when this is all over?”

“What, be your assistant?”

“No… My partner.”

“Wouldn’t it be weird to be dating one of us and working with the other?”

“Maybe. But weird is what we do around here. Think about it. I’m part alien and you’re from another dimension.”

Skye went silent for a few moments, watching the babies. Her babies, she reminded herself.

“I want to say thank you.” She said.

“For?”

“This.” Skye said “All this. I’m me again. My wife is no longer in danger, I’m a mother and I have a sister. I have a life now.”

“Well, I didn’t do everything.”

“You kept your promise. You said even if you had to move heaven and earth, you’d get us back together. And you came through” She said, sticking her hand out “…partner…”

“I think there is something you should see.” He said “I have some information, I know you might not want to know this, so, I’m giving you an out.”

“An out for what?”

“The truth...”

“About..?”

Scott looked into the window at the babies.

“Oh God…” Skye said. “Just tell me.”

“You’re sure.”

“Just fucking tell me already.”

“Ward isn’t their father.” Scott said, handing Skye the folder he’d stolen.

“Oh my God…” Skye said in disbelief as she read it, “That son of a bitch…”

“Well, not the reaction I expect…”

“You expected me to be mad about who their father is?” She asked “I really don’t care. Hell, as far as I care, I am. They’re my kids and that’s all that matters. But Garret…”

“… is dead…” Scott said “Killed by an old friend of yours it would seem…”

Jemma interrupted them.

“Skye, Jas is all clear, you two can go rest. The staff will help you and the twins to some quarters.”

Skye walked in to be with Jas.

“Scott,” Jemma said once Skye was out of earshot “call the others down, we need to talk about Skye.”


	2. parenting

A little while later,

“Jas and the babies are healthy,” Jemma told Mack, May and Scott.

“What about Daisy and Skye?” May asked

“That’s where things get interesting.”

Jemma tapped on the holocom.

“I never had the proper tools to notice this.” She said as a hologram of a human brain formed. The view zoomed in almost down to the cellular level, revealing a tiny object.

“This, from what Scott has shown us, appears to be Siltavion technology. It was what was controlling Skye.”

“So, those personalities were really installed in her?” Fitz asked, walking in.

“I don’t think so.” Jemma said, “but it’s a possibility.”

“That’s not what my grandmother told me.” Scott said, confused, “She said the process failed on Skye.”

“Failed?”

“She said the resurrected agents retained no memory of their past lives…”

“But then… Where did…” Jemma thought “Could she have?”

“Let’s worry about that later.” Mack said. “Right now, is she a threat?’

“No, it seemed the electrical jolt Scott gave her fried the chip.”

“OK, so, now what?” May asked.

“We need to get brainstorming.” Mack said “Situation isn’t going to resolve itself.”

 

Daisy knocked on the door to the room Skye and Jas had been given.

“It’s open”

Daisy entered and found the two lying on the bed with their babies between them.

“Hey sis.” Skye said, “Come join the cute party.”

“You two OK?”

“I guess…: Jas said, propping herself up slightly.

“Scott told me what he found.” Daisy said

“We’ve discussed this…” Jas said, “And as far as we care, Garret lied.”

“These are our kids, that’s all the matters” Skye added “They’re never going to know their father, no matter who he is.”

“All right then.” Daisy said, turning back towards the door, “If you guys need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

 

Daisy found Scott checking Zephyr Zero over in the hanger.

“I talked to Skye and Jas.” She said.

“And?”

“Well, they seem to be ether taking this really well, or are too shocked to do anything yet.”

“You didn’t tell them about the chip? Right?”

“No.”

“right then.” He said, getting back up from the panel he was working on.

“I was going to go have a talk with Mr. Stark.” Scott said, holding up his wrist with the Stark 5001 “Would you care to meet him and Hannah Montana-you?”

“That sounds interesting…”


	3. Return engagment

Scott returned to the large, black room for the third time in less than a day, this time with Daisy in tow.

“I wasn’t expecting you back so soon.” Stark said, “Everything alright?”

“You tell me.” Scott said with his arms crossed.

“Agent Johnson, nice to finally meet you.”

“Uh… yeah…” Daisy said, noting the robot behind Stark “Hi…”

“Don’t worry about him, he’s harmless.”

“Greetings, Agent Johnson, I am Stark Universal Unit 827.”

“827, could you please take her to meet her counterpart, I think the girl might need someone to talk to.”

“Please, follow me.”

Daisy followed after the robot, while Scott turned back to Stark

“Scott, I’m sorry. Your grandmother told me that if you knew, it would lead to Mysiri finding out too soon. As long as she doesn’t know, your grandmother’s plans have their best chance at succeeding.”

“What does this have to do with you? Why are you so interested in helping?”

“Because… after your world, the next one on their list is this one.”

 

“Holy Fuck” The other girl said as Daisy entered the room she was resting in. “Who… who are you?”

“I’m you.”

“That’s not… you’re an AMD, aren’t you?”

“Nope, flesh and blood, just like you.”

“What do you want?”

“Just to talk.”

“About?

“About you, and us and what we are and, well, I know you’re going through a rough time…”

“Rough time? Rough time? I’m a freak, a monster!”

“You’re not a monster!”

“Nat is going to have me put down. I just know it.”

“She tried to kill me and my boyfriend in exchange for removing your Inhuman DNA. She loves you.”

‘She wants me fixed.”

“Not anymore, at least I hope.”

“But if she loves me…”

“Look… There is nothing wrong with you.”

Daisy explained to her counterpart how the process of an inhuman gaining their powers worked.

Before long, her other self calmed down. She didn’t quite understand, but it was enough.

They returned to the Panopticon to find Scott and Stark still arguing.

 

“Look, I get it, but the woman I love was violated for this, and I will not stand here and act like it was nothing.”

“Violated?” Daisy asked, standing next to Scott

“I found out why you were susceptible to being controlled.” Scott said with a look that could kill, turning back towards Stark “You want to tell her or should I?”

“…Mysiri came to me a few years ago and convinced me to work with her. Everything I could find about her made it seem like she was some sort venture capitalist, interstined in advancements in bio-tech and genome engineering. I didn’t realize what she was up to till it was too late. It was my biotech she used to modify Hive to not only recontrol you… but to survive an interdimensional jump.”

 

“Scott…” Daisy said quietly, “please tell me you have more of Lash’s blood?”

“Why?” He asked. He didn’t need an answer as the alternate Daisy raised her hand.


	4. Uncomfortable Reminders

Before her other self could get her quake blast off, Daisy shattered the glass walkway she was standing on. This didn’t deter the other, who vibrated herself back onto the platform.

Daisy and Scott moved between her and Stark

“We should have seen this coming.” Daisy said

“Never mind that, you just broke our exit.”

“oops…” she said in realization.

The possessed young woman tried to fire off again when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“Excuse me, miss.”

827 came up behind her, having jumped the broken bridge with ease and placed its hand on her shoulder, giving her an electric shock.

“Dear me, I hope there will be no more trouble today.” It said, “Maintenance will be along to replace the glass momentarily.”

 

“Three laws compliant?” Scott asked, “Anything else you want to confess to lying about.”

“I didn’t lie, 827 is just an exception. He’s self-aware beyond anything I could program.”

“So he is Ultron…”

“Well, sort of…”

“Yes or no.”

“No. He’s more like the one they call ‘Vision”

 

“Hey,” Daisy said, “less arguing, what do we do with her?”

“Stark, you wouldn’t happen to have another sample of Lash’s blood, like what you gave Grandma to give to me, would you?” Scott asked Stark, looking at the unconscious young woman.

“No, I didn’t think I’d need it.”

“Great… can you find us one instead?”

“How?”

The two of them turned at looked at the man.

“How do you think...?” Scott said at his wit’s end.

“Sorry… Sorry…” Stark said as he began to sift through the data. “Here’s one.”

He ran his fingers over his console and within a few minutes, a big, blue giant was smashing against the walls of the receiving room.

“Can you open the door part way, so I can get my hand inside and touch him?”

“I wish I could.”

“Can we knock him out?”

“I… never considered I would have to…”

“OK…  plan C.” Scott said as ran across the newly repaired bridge and out into the tunnel.

 

The wall receded, and Lash saw Scott standing there.

“Hey big guy, look… we need a little help with something?”

The blue Inhuman just made a growling noise.

“We have someone here who’s infected with something only you can fix. We need your help.”

Lash charged at Scott.

“Oh shit…” He said, running down the hall.

Lash followed. Scott wasn’t sure if it could smell him or if it had some other sense, but he took and chance. He ran back into the Panopticon and jumped over the unconscious body of the other Daisy.

 

Lash lumbered into the room. He looked at them and slowly came forward, only to stop after a few feet.

He looked down at the girl and quickly did his little trick, removing the parasites from her body.

“This is why you summoned me?”

The two nodded

“You will send me back.”

“If you’d follow me, I’d be more than happy to accommodate you” 827 said, leading the massive inhuman out of the room.

 

“What… what happened?” The other Daisy said, regaining consciousness.

“You were being controlled by that… thing.” Daisy said to herself.

“I wanna go home.” She moaned.

“We’ll take you back, don’t worry.”

“Can you add her earth to the 5001?” Scott asked, taking the device off and handing it to Stark.

“I’ll get right on that.”


	5. Lovers and Sisters

Scott and the two Daisy’s materialized outside on a dark street.

“Where are we?” The one Daisy, still getting over her Hive infection being removed, asked, confused.

“You tell us.” The other said “Stark sent us here for a reason.”

They heard a car screech to a stop behind them.

“DAISY?”

The three turned

“Nat?” the one called back.

“Oh my God… you’re ok… you’re ok.” The woman known to the world as Natalie Romans cried as she ran towards them.

The two embraced in the street, sharing a long kiss.

“Oh baby.” Daisy said as they backed apart. “I missed you so much.”

“Thank you.” Romanov said to the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. “I’m sorry. For what I did.”

“You were just trying to get the woman you loved back.” Scott said, taking his girlfriend’s hand “I’ve come to know the feeling.”

“Daisy…” Romanov said to the one in her arms. “There is something I need to say…”

“I know.” She said “they told me. I’m abnormal…”

“No… You’re not… You’re… special…” Romanov told her, “and that’s not what I want to say.”

Romanov took a step back.

“My real name is Natasha Romanov. I was born in Russia.”

“So what, You’re my Nat, and that’s all that matters.”

“Truth is… I love you more than anything. Nothing has made me happier than being with you. I told you my real name because I need to ask you this? Will you marry me?”

“Even after…?”

“Daisy, I don’t care what you are so long as you’re by my side.”

“Yes… I’ll marry you.”

Scott and his Daisy looked at each other

“Don’t get any ideas just yet.” She said ‘I’m not one for rushing into these sorts of things.”

“You rushed to declare yourself my girlfriend.”

“We both knew, after what happened, we…”

Scott leaned in and kissed her.

“Come on, let’s get home.” She said

“Kind of stuck till this recharges…" He told her, "But I have an idea…”

 

 

 

Meanwhile

“Well, dear _latuch_ , you seem to have been busy.” Mysiri said.

“Whatever do you mean.” Lilliantin said without looking up.

“You’ve been helping the _gultan_.” Mysiri said, walking close to her sister and yanking the tablet out of her hands. “Don’t deny it. Cultas found your backdoor access to the main computer.”

“Do you have proof of these accusations or are you simply, what’s the term the locals use ‘Grasping at straws?”

“This is serious. I’ve tried to keep them from icing you, but I can’t protect you if they figure out what you’ve been up to.”

Lilliantin sighed.

“Mysiri, I would love to go home as much as anyone else. But… I… What you’re doing is wrong. This is their home. Who are we to take it from them?”

“We are Siltavi.” Mysiri said “If father could see you talking like that he’d…”

“He’d agree with me.” Lilliantin interrupted. “We’re not murders Mysi.”

“Our people could be dying.” Mysiri continued “We should be doing everything we can to protect our heritage.”

“I am doing everything.”

“Not locked in here you’re not… you…” Mysiri began to say, “wait…”

She exited her sister’s cell and returned to her quarters, bringing up the security feed from the hallway. She watched as the two humans walked down the hallway into the brig area. A realization crept into her mind.

She marched back to her sister.

“What is he?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t play games… What is he?”

Lilliatin sighed again “He’s my grandson.”

“Your…”

“He’s our blood.”

“No… it’s not possible… you checked.”

“Yes, I checked, and I lied. There are humans with certain genetic potential, engineered into them by _Gultan_ 2/134/2/1, the ones who called themselves ‘The Kree”.”

“They are compatible with us?”

“Just barely. They’re called ‘Inhumans.” Lilliantin stood and took her sister’s hands “we could build lives here. This could be home.”

“You would soil our blood for this.” Mysiri said, outraged “Our family’s honor and heritage, for these… things.”

Mysiri began to storm out

“These things are people.”

 “Shut up.” Mysiri cried “I don’t care about them or this lump of dirt. We’re going home.”


	6. New goals in life...

“So you’re an alien?” Romanov asked.

“ _PART_ alien.” Scott said in exasperation.

Scott and Daisy were being driven back to the safehouse in the Belmont Tunnel.

Romanov leaned forward and put her hands to her head.

“I’d have realized what she was planning…”

“There is no way you could have known.” Her Daisy said, taking her hand “She manipulated you… through me. It’s what she’s good at.”

“What they seem to excel at.” Scott added.

 

The car pulled up outside a somewhat non-descript building.

“While I don’t mind a little redecorating, they already patched the hole you two blew into the far wall.” Romanov explain, leading them inside.

 

“If you don’t mind me asking, how did you find this place?” Romanov asked as they walked down the tunnel.

“Video game.” Scott said with another of his smirks.

“Nerd.”

“I prefer the term ‘Geek’ thank you very much…”

 

The entered the door in the side of the tunnel into the room.

Romanov pointed the two down the passage Mysiri used to appear and disappear.

“We found this place about ten years ago. We don’t know who built it or why.”

 

The passage led to some stairs down into what looked like a sump room.

“Dead end…”

“Only for you…” Scott said. He held out his hand and touched the far wall. He felt a small jolt, then his hand passed right through.

“Just like that tunnel…” Daisy said.

“This is where we part ways.” Scott said to the two locals, “I left you a little something something.” He said, tapping his jacket pocket with the hand not stuck in the wall. Romanov put her hand into her own, finding a flash drive.

“Consider it a wedding present…” He said

He took his Daisy’s hand and the two stepped through the wall.

 

“Wow…” Romanov said having watched the two disappear.

“Should we head back to base?” her Daisy asked.

“Base, No. Home.” Romanov said, “I’ve decided to retire from Chessboard.”

“You sure?”

“Positive baby.” She said, kissing her. “Just you and me. That’s all I need in life.”

“But what about the threat of the abnormal?”

“There’s no such thing as abnormal. Only different.” She said, holding the drive Scott had given her.

She took her fiancée’s hand.

“Besides, we’ve got wedding dresses to look at.”

 

The two women walked out of the tunnel hand in hand, past a mark painted on the wall. A mark Daisy and Scott would have recognized in an instant had they seen it. A mark revealing exactly who built this safehouse.

 

“Logan Paul…?” a voice asked.

“Who’s asking” the former Chessboard agent said, looking up from his drink. He had been staring at his phone, the breaking news article about his former boss and former girlfriend getting engaged to each other. The voice came from a man standing in the doorway to the bar.

“I’ve been sent to offer you a job…”

“A job? What kind of job?”

“Chessboard… They do a good job, but they’re not the big leagues… We’re a bit more. Let’s just say we handle the things they can’t.”

The man sat down next to him “Must be rough. My ex-wife just got married, to my psychologist...”

“Get you something?” the bartender asked

“not right now…” the man said.

“Who are you?” Logan asked

“Agent Coulson.” He said, taking off his shades “I’m with S.H.I.E.L.D.”


	7. family can be such a royal pain.

Having passed through the holographic wall, Scott and Daisy found themselves staring at a structure, not too dissimilar from the portal device they’d used two years prior to rescue Coulson, Fitz and Reyes.

“So what? We need to read the Darkhold to open this?”

“If my guess is right, no.”

Scott touched the machine and it began to light up.

“New rule” Daisy said as it began to let off a blue glow “No more you touching things…”

 

The machine a made a loud whine, followed by a bright flash. When it dissipated, they could tell by the fact the floor under their feet was now metal instead of concrete they’d been transported again. Other than that, it was pitch dark in there.

 

“Where are we? Can’t see a thing.” Daisy said. “Mysiri’s ship again.” Scott said

“How can you tell?”

“I just can. Come on, before they find us.”

“To late, nephew.” Mysiri said as the lights came on.

“Daisy, stay behind me.”

“I don’t need…”

“STAY BEHIND ME.”

Scott pushed Daisy back against the wall.

“Taking advantage of us are we?” Mysiri said

“If it keeps her safe…”

“I happen to be missing a _Tallusotfamjurca_ ” She said “You… wouldn’t know where it is, would you?”

“Name doesn’t ring a bell.”

“You’re a terrible liar.”

“You’re a terrible leader.”

“Now now now, Trivlen, is that anyway to talk do your dear old great aunt.”

“Considering I hate your guts… I’d say yes.”

Daisy piped up behind him “Scott, I can…”

“I know what I’m doing…” He hissed back.

 

“You know what I can’t do,” Mysiri said “But that doesn’t stop my friends here”

She turned to the black suited soldiers.

“Kill him.”

“Now would be a good time…” Scott said.

 

Suddenly, the floor panel they were standing on gave way.

“Get down and start crawling.” Scott said to Daisy quickly, leading her into the duct work.

 

They found a large enough spot to stop and rest.

“What the hell was all that? Why did you shove me into the wall.”

“Because they can’t harm me.”

“What?”

Scott rolled up his sleeve to reveal his Tallus. He touched the center gem and a projection of a red ring appeared.

“ _Pure blood siltavion are genetically programed to be unable to physically harm another member of their kind_.” The projection said, it’s line vibrating like an osciallcope as it spoke.

“Ape shall not kill ape.” Scott added.

“So…”

“ _By standing in front of you, Master Trivlen protected you. Since they were unable to harm him_.” The projection said

“I told you not to call me that.” Scott said

“ _I’m sorry, Trivlen_ …”

“That’s not my name….”

“ _Forgive me… my programing is limited_.”

“Scott…” Daisy asked confused “What the fuck is that?”

“ _Greetings, Mistress Daisy. I am Tallusotfamjurca XCL14729A_.”

“You’re talking to the ship’s computer system.” Scott said.

“Why is the ship’s computer helping you.”

“ _Master, does she not know who you are?_ ”

“NO, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Who are you?” Daisy asked, blocking their path with her body.

“Daisy, I’m the same guy I’ve always been. This is just a bit of ‘Who do you think you are’ nonsense…”

“ _Nonsense? Nonsense? My I present his…_ ”

Scott quickly turned the device off.

“Let him finish.” She said, “I want to know.”

He looked at her for a moment and realized she was serious.

“Fine…” He said, switching the connection back on.

“ _As I was saying, May I present, his royal highness, Prince Trivlen of the Siltavion Empire_.”


	8. Repeat performace

“Prince?” She said in shock “You’re a PRINCE.”

“That’s what they keep telling me.” He said, “Now can we get a move on?”

She aquesed and they began crawling again.

“Why didn’t you want to tell me?” she asked back to him.

“It’s not who I am. I’m just plain old Scott from Queens.” He said “I’m as much Trivlen as you are Mary Sue Poots…”

Daisy stopped for a second.

“Yeah, I remember what you said.” He continued “You don’t want to be reminded of that life. I don’t want to be reminded of my heritage.”

“You’re right…”

They crawled on, soon finding the exit tunnel Scott had used before.

“ _Master, you are leaving the range of my primary processor, I will lose full functionality soon_.” The device on Scott’s wrist said.

“How much longer till we can jump?” Daisy asked

“According to this, less than an hour.”

“Do you think we should keep going?” She asked

A voice outside answered “They’re in the ductwork, find them.”

“Great…” Scott said…

“I’ve got an idea…”Daisy told him with a smirk.

 

 

“This can’t work” Scott said with his hands behind his head.

“Play the part and these morons will just let us through.” She said “Now get moving.”

It was Daisy’s turn to steal a uniform to wander through SSR headquarters.

 

“Hey! Nice work, Lt Simmons.”

“Thank you” Daisy told the soldier.

“See, no problem at all.” She said to Scott after the man had passed.

“One guy…”

“something the matter?” She asked.

“Yeah, this place is a lot emptier than it was when I was here before.”

The pasted a window and Scott found out why. Strewn outside were the bodies of the ex-Chimera agents that had been freed.

“Effective at suppressing dissent.” A familiar voice said.

Leopold Fitz was standing nearby, gun drawn.

“Really?” Scott said, mentally sending the SSR security officer flying backwards.

“Forgot about that…” Leopold said in a daze.

“Let’s go…” Scott said

“Wait… I’ve got another idea.”

 

“Lt. Simmons and I are taking the prisoner to be interrogated by President Rogers.” Leopold told the guard at the gate.

“I’m sorry sir, but without authorization from Col. Hand, no one’s allowed off the island until we can contain whatever disease is…”

“Do I look like I care?” Leopold said.

“No, sir.” The guard said, opening the gate.

“You two do realize you’ll never get away with this?”

“Can the clichés and just drive.” Scott said.

“why do you want to go to Rodgers anyway? I would think…”

“How about you shut up…” Daisy said, “Unless you want us to bring you back with us?”

“Why would that be a threat?”

“well, we know of an Earth that’s completely empty, devoid of all human life… we could leave you there…”

“You wouldn’t…”

“Watch us…” Scott said.


	9. A kale brick in ever oven...

“So… comfy?” Melinda May said to herself.

“Now I know what the girls were going through all week…” Her other self said, standing up from the desk and looking at her doppelganger. “Quite a place you’ve got here, I’m used to operating out of sewers.”

“You should see this place in about a century, you’d miss your sewer.”

“The others mentioned time travel. Hard to believe that sort of thing is possible.”

“I would think being in this room would make you think otherwise.”

“Just flying around on that jet made me feel like I was in an old pulp story. At least the ones made before Rogers banned them. ‘We can not be strong on idle fantasy of what might me, we should be learning from our past and our mistakes.”

“Talk about a stick in the mud…”

 

Downstairs.

 

“Hey… Jemma…. Can I ask a favor?” Jas said, entering with the twins in their carriers.

“Sure… What’s up?”

“Could you… you know… keep an eye on the twins for a little while?”

“Is something wrong?”

“Well, no...”

“You and Skye want some alone time…”

“If you don’t mind, thanks.” Jas said, as she quickly ran out of the room.

 

“What was that all about.” Fitz said, having seen Jas run away.

“Your male fantasy, come to life.” Jemma said as a joke.

“very funny.” He said “What’s all this.”

“analysis of Skye’s brain waves. Data saved from when we scanned her while unconscious. Caitlin gave it to me.”

“You think the machine you used had an effect on the chip?” He asked, not noticing Jemma was still looking at the babies.

“Hard to consider they’re basically mine.” She said, “Genetically speaking of course.” Her smile quickly faded.

Fitz walked over to her, knowing what she was thinking about.

“Did Deke ever tell you anything? About…?”

“His mother? no, not really. She’d been dead for quite a while at that point and he didn’t want to talk about her.”

“It must have been hard for you.”

“Not as hard as must have been for you.” She said, “How are you holding up? We don’t get to talk much.”

“About as good as one can expect.”

“Fitz, that wasn’t you for the last time. I though we got you over this.”

“No… Seeing Jas and Skye…”

“Fitz, I love you and that is the end of this discussion. I’ve got no attraction to Daisy what so ever. Your dream was just that, a dream.”

“What have you got from Skye’s brain?” Fitz asked, taking the hint to drop the subject.

“Not much yet. I might need to take that chip out to examine in better. But that could put her at risk.”

The Lighthouse suddenly shook.

“Are we under attack?” Fitz asked

The two looked at each other and had a realization that made them feel extremely uncomfortable.

“Well…that explains that…” Jemma said.

 

Meanwhile

 

Leopold drove Scott and Daisy through Washington.

They pulled up to a red light outside the White House.

“You really think the two of you will be able to do anything? You’re daft.”

“Why are you loyal to him at all?” Scott asked

“Let me guess, money.” Daisy added.

“ha ha ha” Leopold said flatly “I have my reasons, and you don’t need to know them.”

The guard at the gate waved then in to the entrace.

“Sorry Mr. Fitz, I don’t transfer orders and it seems like half the staff have gone missing.”

“We’re having the same problem. But I have standing orders to bring in any of them anyway.”

“Yes sir.”

 

Leopold led the two of them inside. The entered into the main building and were led by a few armed soldiers to Rogers in his study.

“You’ve guts kid, I’ll give you that.” Rogers said, staring Scott down. “But you just don’t have the brains. All these gadgets your world relies on… It makes you soft. That’s why I got rid of them.”

He looked right at Daisy “You don’t think I didn’t know… I let you two come here.”

The old man chuckled “Oh, and don’t bother with your little magic trick. While you spend your time making trinkets and toys; I’ve ensures we’ve spent our time on much more… fruitful ventures. You’ll both find your powers don’t work here. It will allow us to talk on more even footing.”

He gestured two his protection detail, who sat the pair down. Leopold stood in the back against the wall.

“So… Mr. Riley, nice to finally meet you face to face.” Rogers said, sitting down “Ms. Johnson, you’re looking well.”

“Bite me…” Daisy muttered under her breath.

“I’m surprised you would come here.

“Well,” Scott started “the people have a right to petition the government for a redress of their grievances, we figured we go right to the top. First off, I’m tired of your people pointing guns at me…”

Rogers motioned and a guard pistol whipped Scott.

“Better? Keep your smartass comments to yourself.”

Scott looked down at his wrist. Any second.

“I’m about 70% smartass by volume.”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve speaking like this in front of me.” Rogers said with a look of contempt on his face. “Whip the smug look off your face.”

“Make me.”

“Scott…” Daisy hissed

“Fine.” Rogers said, getting up and walking around the table. He grabbed Scott by his shirt.

“Any more stupid comments you want to make?”

 

Scott looked down at this wrist and smiled

“Yes, you might want to brace yourself…”

Scott quickly got out of the chair and grabbed Roger’s arm. Daisy followed suit, jumping on Scott’s back as Scott triggered the 5001.


	10. Old New Friends

“Holy… where the fuck did the go?” Leopold Fitz had just seen the two weird freaks kidnap the most powerful man on the planet.

“Don’t just stand there!” He screamed at the guards, most of whom were still in shock.

“Leopold, what happened?” Col. Hand asked, running into the room.

“They took him… Those… freaks took him. I told Garret we should have killed them when we had the chance. Now Rogers is gone, and Garret is dead. I guess that leaves you in charge for now.”

“I’ll get every pair of eyes looking for him.”

“Don’t bother… you’re never going to find him without my help.” Mysiri said, having appeared in the room.

 

 

“Where are we?” Rogers yelled, swinging at Scott, who ducked. “What have your done?”

He went to take another swing, only to find his arm caught.

“Mr. Rogers, I would assume better of you.” 827 said, releasing Rogers’ hand.

“What the…” Rogers said, looking over the mechanical man.

“Hello Steve.” Stark said, floating in on his chair.

“Stark…? Is that you?” Rogers asked. “Let me guess, you’re like those two.”

“I should say that YOU’RE like them” Stark told him “This is my house, not theirs.”

Rogers looked around.

“You look… well…” Rogers said

“You don’t need to sugar coat it, I know how old I look.”

“Why am I here?” Rogers asked.

“How should I know. They brought you here.”

“What do you two want.”

“To talk.” Daisy said, “On neutral terms.”

“No troops, no guns.” Scott added. “And I figured you wouldn’t say yes without persuasion.”

“Steve,” Stark spoke up “You have it on my honor that you will not be harmed.”

“With all due respect, I don’t know you or your honor.”

“I’m a frail old man in a hover chair with clockwork helpers unable to kill.”

“I thought you said…” Scott started

“I am a pacifist by choice.” 827 interrupted “I only act to protect Mr. Stark.”

“Tell you what, follow me, I’ll get you a drink and we’ll talk.”

 

“Hey, 827,” Scott called over to the robot “Do you think you could bring my plane here? I might need it.”

The robot’s eyes changed color for a moment and it stood still.

“Yes, it should be possible to fit your aircraft in the receiving bay. I will commence transport once you all clear the room.”

 

“So I wound up encased in ice? And survived?” Rogers asked in amazement.

“Strange as it might sound, yes.” Stark said.

“Huh… same on their world?” Rogers asked before taking a big swig of his glass.

Stark nodded.

“Wow…” Rogers said.

“Worked up that batch myself. Can’t get past your metabolism, but

“I know you’re not… but it’s still good to see you again.” Rogers said, “What happened to the others.”

“Peggy died a couple years ago on, both worlds. As for the two Buckys… That’s a long story.”

“I’d like to hear it…”

 

“Careful, careful.” Scott yelled as two of the service robots began working in the instrument panel, causing the gun ports to open and commence charging to fire.

“Unfortunately, Agent Riley, those classes do not accept verbal commands.” 827 stated, “I will communicate with their controlling program to avoid the weapon systems.”

“Thanks for the warning.” He sarcastically told the robot.

“What’s all this?” Daisy asked as the service robots swarmed the black jet plane.

“A few upgrades, I think.” Scott said as he watched two more robots carrying the star devices off the plane. “Aren’t we going to need those?” Scott asked 827.

“No longer.” 827 said “Come this way, please.”

 

827 lead the pair out into a workshop a short walk away.

“Mr. Stark and I have been working on a way to integrate the TTCU technology into your aircraft. This new design will allow for more rapid and better controlled jumps.”

“So the plane would be one large device?” Daisy asked

“In essence.”

 

A few hours later, one of the service bots had brought Rogers some diner and Stark left him to it.

 

“How’s he doing?” Daisy asked, she and Scott joining Stark in his office.

“Well… better than I thought he would. Told him about Carter and Barnes.”

“How’d he take that?” Scott asked.

“I think he’s playing stuff upper lip.” Stark said “That might be to our advantage.”

“Get him to see things our way.”

“And how do you plan to do that?” Daisy asked.

 “I’ve got an idea…” Scott said, looking at the windows behind Stark.

Stark turned around and looked.

“One small step…” The older man said

“One giant leap…” The younger one finished before turning to Daisy. “Honey, how about a trip to Florida…?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hard to believe it's been just over 5 months since I started posting these, and nearly a year since I had the original idea that became Scott's backstory. This chapter gets the master document to 300 pages in Word.
> 
> I just intended 827 to be a random robot, but more and more, I've been using James Spader's Ultron voice in my head while reading off his dialogue.


	11. We choose to go...

“So…” Jemma began “I’ve gone over the details of the scan, from the data Scott gave me, and from comparing samples with multiple sources...”

Skye and Jas were sitting across from her. The couple held each other’s hands tightly. They’d come to retrieve their children after their “private time”, and Jemma had told them to sit down.

“Skye… I can only come to one conclusion… Which even I’m having a hard time understanding.”

“Which is…”

“That, best I can tell; you might never have really died.”

“What?” Skye and Jas asked at once, their mouths hung open.

“Your body chemistry matches Daisy’s, exposed to GH325, but not dependent on it, like Coulson was. He’d been dead for days when he went through the process. My only conclusion is you had to have been still barely alive when they started pumping you full of the stuff…”

“But what about the other ‘Skye’ and ‘agent cranky pants?” Skye asked.

“I’m still working on that.”

 

 

The early morning quiet of the swamp was interrupted by the blue glow of the arriving _Zephyr Zero_.

 

“So where are we exactly, now?” Rogers asked as he and Scott climbed down the stairs. Daisy had already made contact with the others and was going over everything with Mack and May.

“Cape Canaveral, Florida.” Scott told him as they walked toward the large building across from them.

“Doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Patrick Air Force Base?” Scott asked, confused

The older man shook his head

“Naval Air Station Banana Hammock River?” Scott asked, at this point exasperated.

“Sounds familiar…”

“Forget it, let’s just get you inside before anyone notices you. We’re not exactly supposed to be here right now, it’s closed.”

Scott walked up to the emergency exit door in the side of large building, breaking the lock open.

“What’s in here?” Rogers asked.

“The greatest way to show the difference between our two worlds”

Scott opened the door into a massive hanger, where a large black and white machine lie on its side in segments.

“Steve Rogers, I’d like you to meet the pinnacle of human scientific and technological achievement, the Saturn V.”

“It’s a rocket…”

“Yes…yes it is…” Scott said in smug satisfaction looking up at the moon rocket “Still think we waste our time with trinkets and toys?”

“I stopped them from making these after the rocket attacks on London during the war. Why did you keep making them?”

“Why not, we found other uses for the technology.”

“What kind of payload does it carry?”

“come again?”

“What kind of warhead? How much of an explosive yield? Does it have an atom bomb?”

“That’s not what this is for.”

“If it’s not for war, why build it? What other use would something like this have?”

“What’s the best way to put this…” Scott pondered out loud “Does every airplane carry bombs?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Not every airplane is a bomber.”

“Right, then, what are some other uses for airplanes?”

“Reconnaissance, cargo carrying, passenger transportation.”

Scott made a face at the last one that Rogers keyed into.

“This… was built to carry PEOPLE?”

“363 feet long, developing almost 8 million foot pounds of thrust at launch, capable of sending 50 tones, along with a crew of three, to the moon.”

Rodgers looked up at the massive rocket again.

 “The technology created to kill, now exists for man’s betterment.” Scott continued “All it takes is someone to look beyond the original purpose.”

Rogers walked along the rocket’s length.

“Why are you showing me all this?” Rogers asked

“To paraphrase from the man whose name this complex carries ‘technology and science have no conscience of their own. It’s up to the person using it to decide whether it will be a force for good or evil’.” Scott said “You were so caught up in how something could be used to hurt or control, that you never considered how it could help. You let Mysiri play into your fears. She USED you and you LET HER use you. You were afraid.”

“No…she” Rodgers said “She said she’d bring Peggy back…”

“She can’t do that anymore than I can and you know that.” Scott said “Hell, I made sure she couldn’t. And while we’re at it, let’s say she could. Let’s says she could bring your dear Peggy Carter back? What would she say the moment she got back? When you told her how much of the world had been destroyed? How many people had died, for her sake? Did you actually think she’d have been happy about it? Do you think she could love a man who’s worse than Hitler?”

“What did you just say?” Rogers asked with searing rage.

“You heard me. You are WORSE than Hitler.”

“No. No. No!” Rogers yelled as he slammed his fist into the glass fence surrounding the displayed Command and Service module, shattering it.

“Billions dead. Half the planet uninhabitable. Society locked in a state where you’re all comfy cozy, everything the way YOU want it, fuck everyone else. Yeah, I think that’s pretty damn descriptive.”

“You’re wrong!” he cried “I didn’t…. I didn’t…”

The man sank to his knees and started sobbing.

“You never really grieved her, did you?” Scott asked “Holding on to your emotions like that is not something we consider healthy.”

“No, I need to be a man. To be a leader...”

“Do you want to really be a man?” A voice asked. A figure was standing off the near the wall, next to a display of a moon rock, obscured in the shadows of the early light. “Well? Do you want to be a man or do you just want to be that kid from Brooklyn?”

“Who the fuck are you?” Rogers asked.

“Isn’t it obvious?” He said, sitting down at a table next to him “Come over here and sit. Let’s talk. Compare notes.”

“I have nothing to say to you.”

“Oh really?” the man said “Cause it seems you have a lot you want to say, you’re just not giving yourself the opportunity to say it.”

“They, she died.” Rogers said, getting back on his feet.

“I know.”

“She died… she died because…

“Because that Mysiri woman has had it out for you this entire time.”

“I found documentation on her main ship” Scott said, re-entering the conversation, and not telling Rogers about his Tallus having told him this in passing. “Your Howard Stark and Peggy Carter were dead before that plane ever took off. Mysiri’s people killed them, threw their bodies on the plane and had rigged it to blow a few minutes after it left. The entire event was engineered, staged, using knowledge from this world to create a narrative to control you.”

“Why?” Rodgers said “Why did she…?”

“You were the perfect patsy” the man in the corner said “She could mold you into the ‘leader’ she needed and knew the people would follow without question”

“She told me she was an angel. I quickly figured out she was lying, but I believed she wanted to help me. Help me keep everyone safe. I trusted her. She’d helped me and all she wanted was some strange, uesless grey goo we’d found in the ground…”

“That useless grey goo nearly destroyed this world once.” Scott said “Nearly caused the woman I love to die.”

“Man named Quinn, thought the exact opposite from you.” The man said to Rogers “That advancement, that profit, should be first. His actions with that ‘useless grey goo’, set off a chain of events that nearly lead to the Earth being shattered into oblivion.”

“So you’re saying I’m right?”

Scott stepped away for a second to talk to Daisy over the coms.

“No. I’m saying you two are the two extremes. That advancement should be tempered with caution, not fear.”

Scott came back and grabbed Rodgers by the arm “come on, Daisy said there are some cars heading this way. let’s get a move on before the place opens. I’m not explaining the fence you broke.”

“Nice talking to you.” The man said. “See you around.”

“Where?” Rodgers asked him

“Every time you look in the mirror… More or less.”

Rodgers looked back, the other man was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter mostly contains elements I wrote ages ago that I was too proud of to remove, so I reworked it as best as I could.
> 
> Mysiri was a late addition to the story. Like I said for agent Seven, Roger's fear of uncontrolled scientific advancement was the driving force behind his actions, instead of being part of the issue, which we'll see in full next time.


	12. The Prince and the President

“How'd it go?” Daisy asked as Scott sat down at the controls.

“I think we go through to him.” He said, firing up the repulsors and getting them airborne.

“You know, ‘your highness’,” Daisy began, causing Scott to wince, “you never told me anything about…”

“My grandmother and Mysiri are princesses, the daughters of the emperor. Hence why they can speak English and none of the other can. ‘Diplomatic breeds’ is the term they used.”

“Well that sounds vaguely racist…”

“Never said it wasn’t… Anyway, when their father saw the signs they were going to be attacked, he loaded them on that ship and sent them off to be safe. The ship passed Earth many years ago. Just as grandma was getting tired of being stuck onboard. So she snuck off. Met Grandpa, fell in love, got married, had my father and eventually had to leave when they caught up with her…”

“Have you told him yet?”

“No. I probably should.” He said “Could you…”

Yeah… sure”

  

 

Daisy stepped back into the main cabin where Steve Rogers was watching video footage of his counterpart’s exploits.

“They saved the city…” He said quietly.

“They saved the world.” She told him, sitting down across from him.

“Can you… tell me more?”

“Sure…”

 

“Hello…?” Grandpa Kent’s voice, grumpy as ever, played through Scott’s headset.

“Grandpa.. Hey, it’s me again…”

“What now?”

“Hello to you two…”

“What do you want now, Scott?”

“Nothing… I just…”

“Good, I’m busy…”

“I found her.”

“Good, now let…”

“Grandma. I found Grandma Lilly.”

“You…” Kent’s voice cracked.

“I know what happened. I know everything.”

“How did you… how could you…”

“She’s an alien. She doesn’t age the same speed as humans do.”

“Yeah… right… funny…”

“Dowsock…” Scott said, before he heard the phone falling to the floor.

He heard his grandfather scramble to pick it up, meaning he’d simply dropped it in shock.

“How did you… You’re not kidding… She’s still alive… and an alien?”

“She looks younger than I do for crying out loud.”

“What did she say about me.”

“That leaving you was the toughest, most heart wrenching thing she ever had to do, but she knew that if the others of her kind saw you and dad, they’d have had you both killed. It hurt her more than leaving her homeworld. She’s never really forgiven herself for it.”

“I… I’, sorry Scott, I need to…”

“Sure. I’ll come see you in person soon.”

 

\-----------

 

“A man of his principles…” Rogers said of his counterpart, as Daisy told him about what happened after the Sokovia Accords. “I wish I could say the same of myself. Mysiri said that if I didn’t keep the people in line, we were doomed. We’d all be dropping nukes. She told me this world was… a hell hole without a man like me.”

He looked out the window at the clear blue sky, the sun rising over the ocean as they flew northwards.

“Instead, it might as well be paradise.”

“Well, it’s not perfect…” Daisy said.

“No, I mean that she said you’d been in a constant state of war. She even implied destroying your world would be doing you a favor.”

“You really need to learn how to pick your associates better.” Scott said, stepping out of the cockpit. “So far, I’ve met two homicidal maniacs and a genocidal maniac. Find an omnicidal one and I think you’ll have the whole set.”

“Who’s flying?” Rogers asked, confused, as he was sure it was just the three of them.

“George.” Scott said, refencing an old nickname for a plane’s autopilot.

“How’s grandpa?” Daisy asked

“In shock. I called my parents to run over and check on him. Let him tell them dad’s half alien.”

 

“Mysiri said you were at war with the Russians for decades. She said it was like a third world war.”

“Yeah, no, that’s not how this worked.” Scott said before explaining the idea of the Cold War.

“I feel so used.” Rogers said, emotions he hadn’t felt in years coming to the surface, “If I’d have known…”

“She played you like a toy on a string.” Scott said “You have every right to be mad.”

“But you can also help put a stop to this.” Daisy told him.


	13. So Happy Togther...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Stan...

Skye and Jas were sitting in their room eating “breakfast”, even though they planned to get some sleep afterwards.

“wow, what a day…” Skye said with a smirk.

“you…” Jas said, giving her a light tap on the arm.

They both smiled lovingly at each other, then went back to eating, sharing glances with each other every so often, but, after a while, Skye’s smile faded.

“Darling, what’s wrong?” Jas asked

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.”

“Don’t be hard on yourself.” Jas told her, holding her hand. “It’s wasn’t your fault.”

Skye got up and walked over to the corner where the twins lay asleep.

“which one is older?”

“Scott.” Jas said

“I meant the babies, not…”

“I know what you meant. Our son is three minutes older than his sister.”

 “You know…” she said to Jas, “It’s weird. I remember not wanting kids.”

“I know,” Jas said, “I begged a pleaded, but you were dead set against it.”

“I didn’t want them to live our lives… I mean, look what happened”

“Don’t beat yourself up over this.” Jas said, walking over and putting her hand on Skye’s shoulder.

 “Everything is my fault. I made the decision to run out to protect you. Everything that’s happened since then is a direct result of that.”

“Yes, and yet, how much good has come from it?”

“good? Jas, I… Seven… Mom and Dad are dead because of it, and my mom has a monster walking around in her body. I can’t help but shake this feeling that… What if Scott was right, what if Seven and ‘Skye’ didn’t really exist. What if they were just me, ‘Daisy’. What if I…”

“Stop it.” Jas said “Just stop. I know you better than you know yourself. That wasn’t you.

Jas took Skye’s hands and spun Skye to face her.

“All that matters is it’s over, you’re back, and you’re mine.” Jas finished, before pulling her close and kissing her.

“Sweet mother of God, I love you.” Skye said

“I love you two.” Her wife replied.

“So, how about round two?” Skye asked in a flirtatious tone.

“Not in front of the twins and not until you can keep from trying to bring the ceiling down on top of us.”

“Oh, come on, they’re barely a day old. What’s the harm?”

“The harm is I don’t trust this place.” Jas said “Fitz said it had been abandoned for years before he found it. No one was maintaining it. You don’t know what your powers could do.”

“Ok, no sex till we find a place outside here. You’re sounding like a mom already.”

“Hey, I’ve been mothering you all these years.”

“Come on, let’s hit the sack…”

Jas responded by pushing Skye down onto the bed.

“Why you…” Skye began to say before Jas leaned down and kissed her again.

“I think I’m the luckiest girl in the multiverse to have you for a wife” Skye said.

“Well, I didn’t do so bad myself.” Jas teased back before rolling over and lying next to Skye.

 

“You know.. I’ve been thinking…” Skye began.

“I thought I smelt something burning…”

“ha-ha.” Skye sarcastically “We have a chance at a completely new life.”

“Yeah… So?” Jas asked

“When Daisy gets back, and we sit down to create our new ‘sevels’, I want to keep ‘Simmons’ as our last name.”

“Well… that’s funny,” Jas said, “Because I like being ‘Johnson.”

“OK then, plan B… as in Both.”

“Both?”

“It’s common here from what I saw, people hyphenate their last names. Jemma and Fitz supposedly did it. We could be Simmons-Johnson.”

“Mrs. and Mrs. Simmons-Johnson… Sounds good to me.”

“You know…” Skye said as they both started to drift asleep “I think. That cliff.”

“It was.” Jas said back “I didn’t say anything, but it was. Best day of my life.”

“You want to do again, don’t you?”

“We’ll see.”

“I remember it like it was yesterday.” Skye said “Us, back of my dad’s car, looking down on the city…’

“And you pulled out that ring.” Jas said with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is chapter 100 of the overall story.


	14. A question of self

Daisy was walking down a corridor. It was dark, quiet. She wasn’t exactly sure what was going on. She heard a voice down the passage.

“I don’t know how they got in.” it said “But we need to catch them all and dismantle them.”

“Coulson?” She thought to herself.

She came to a door where she heard his voice. Coulson was standing there, along with the rest of the team and a few others, including Scott, Piper and Davis.

“You gonna be able to handle this, Scott?”

“Gonna have to…” he said

He looked down on the table in front of him and her eyes followed…

To her…

Another her, lying on the table.

“Skye?” Daisy muttered, only realize the body on the table was sliced open, exposing mechanical guts. It was an LMD.

 

The group looked up at her and slowly began to walk over. They started grabbing onto her body and began to pull it apart.

“NO! PLEASE! STOP!” She cried as they carried away her arms and legs, wires hanging loose. Mack put her torso on a table before Scott came over and detached her head.

“Just like the real one…” He said, as she saw two more tables with more of her lying in bits. Then another of her entered the room. And another… and another…

 

Daisy’s eyes shot open and she sat up, panting. She’d nodded off on the couch after their long stretch of not sleeping. She immediately fired off a light quake blast to calm herself.

“Daisy…” Scott said, having heard her “You had that dream again? Us fighting”

She nodded

“you ever going to tell the details, or are you just going to keep it to yourself.”

“Ever since Sardinia… I’ve…”

“R1 and the LMDs.” Scott realized as he sat down next to her “I should have known.”

“I thought Radcliff and Aida’s little collection was terrifying. Seeing an entire army… all of them carrying my face.”

“You’re under a lot of stress, this is normal.”

“Gee, thanks Dr. Freud…”

“Sometimes, an army of robot doubles of you is just an army of robot doubles.”

“It’s not that…” She started to speak, stopped and took a deep breath.

“I’m worried I’m not real.”

Scott just looked at her like she had two heads. “huh?” was about all he could muster.

“I’m worried I’m an LMD. My dream, I’m an LMD attacking the base. There’re tons of me, swarming the place. It’s like “Night of the ‘living’ Daisys”

“I’ll say it again ‘Huh?’ How are you an LMD?”

“you saw how lifelike they were.”

“Only Aida and Radcliff could make them lifelike.”

“What if they scanned my brain without me knowing? In my sleep or when I was plugged into the framework.”

“You have your powers and your DNA, I wouldn’t be able to copy your powers without it. LMDs don’t have ether. So I know you’re you…”

He gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“I know that.”

“If you ever need me to prove it for you…”

“Can you just keep this between us.”

“can do…” He said “I hope, at least. Lincoln and Jas would probably love the image of that two.”

“Hey!”

“I’m kidding… calm down.”

“Where’s Rogers?” She asked suddenly.

“I think the head.”

Scott took her hand and held it tight.

 

After a few moments, Rogers came out of the bedroom

“Did I miss something?”

“Nope…” the two said together.

A loud beep played from the cockpit

“Ah, we’ve arrived.” Scott said.

 

 Recognize that?” Scott said, pointing out the window.

“Sure…” Rogers said, “Sandy Hook. We’re coming into New York Harbor… What’s that?”

Scott motioned to him to follow into the cockpit

“The Verrazano Bridge.” Scott said, as they approached the massive crossing. Scott sat down and took control. He flew them beneath it, skimming just above the water.

It was a crystal clear day. The now late morning sun reflected off the water.

“My God…” Rodgers said as Lower Manhattan came into view. “The City… It’s… Beautiful… All these buildings.”

“The city’s been on a building spree the past decade or so. Put it this way, within the next decade, the Empire State Building might be bumped out the top ten tallest buildings in the city. Want to take a look around?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pub fact: If and when the new Two World Trade Center is completed, the Empire State Building, which stood unchallenged for decades, will only be the eight tallest building in New York.


	15. The Right Thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've finally got something to ignore, that official MCU timeline, which I will ignore and continue to assume Infinity War was in 2018, only because I have built the entire story around it taking place when it debuted. I've planned out events in this timeline. down to exact dates in some cases, as far ahead as 2040. Just as an example of how anal I have this, the events of "Operation Exiles" begin on Friday August 10th, 2018.

Scott brought them up the Hudson and set the Zephyr down at a heliport on the west side.

“Feels so weird having no one stopping and looking at me.” Rogers said as he saw people walking along the riverfront park.

“You get used to it.” Scott said doing something weird with his eyes.

“Scott?”

“Stark gave them to me, they don’t seem to want to sit right, how do I look?” He asked, holding his eye lid open.

“Your eyes are… blue?” Daisy said.

“Damn it… I told him green, twice.”

“what’s going on?” She asked

“Smart lenses, a gift from Mr. Stark. Cover my irises so no one freaks out.”

 

 “I don’t get back here much.” Rogers said as the crossed West Side Highway. “I barely recognize anything.”

Rogers started to walk a little faster up the street.

 

As he walked, he marveled at every detail. The sky, the trees, the glittering glass towers soaring into the sky.

“How many people live here?” He asked, watching the crowds pour out of subway exits.

“Bout, what was it, 8 million?” Daisy responded. Scott nodded.

“and you can feed, shelter and clothe every last one of them?”

“No…” Scott said, looking at a homeless man sitting near the stairs to the subway “No, we can’t. Doesn’t mean we don’t try.”

“on my world that man would have a house, a job and food in his belly.”

“Assuming he was even alive in the first place” Scott said

“I did what I felt had to be done.” Rogers said.

“Ah yes…” Daisy began before Rogers cut him off.

“Don’t. I know what you’re going to say, don’t.”

“All we want to get across is that Mysiri mislead you. That your world could have been just like this” She said in reply. “We know it’s not perfect. We fight to make it as perfect as we can.”

“No matter what they say about us.” Scott added in “We’re Inhumans. We’re feared like we’re monsters. But that doesn’t stop us from doing the right thing.

The two stood side by side in front of Rogers

“So… Steve…” Scot began

“Ready to help us do the right thing?” Daisy finished.

 

Lilliantin was furiously inputting commands into her tablet.

“ _Your Highness_ ” Her Tallus terminal began. “ _You sister and the flight leader are on their way down now. You only have a few moments left_.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

“ _The conversion between our units of temperature measurement and Earth’s Kelvin system is a factor of negative .0015_ ”

“Shut up and distract them”

“Your father programmed me to obey you to the utmost.” The computer said, “But I can not affect the master system anymore.”

 

The door to her cell slid open.

“Visiting me with _Molatra’s_?” Lilliantin said, looking at the black suits behind her sister and the captain “don’t I feel special.”

“I should have figured it out sooner, where the boy got his tongue from…” Mysiri said.

The Molatra’s led Lilliantin out into the corridor and down to a dark, dusty chamber that hadn’t been used in decades.

It contained a single hibernation pod. Lilliantin knew she would be locked inside until they eventually returned to Siltavia, even if that never actually happened.

“Mysiri, if I never see you again… Know that I forgive you.” She said to her little sister.

“Goodbye, _Latuch_ ” Mysiri said as the pod closed and locked.


	16. Hail to the Chief

Rogers stood still, watching the three women across from him, all three looking like they were about to skin him alive.

Scott and Daisy had brought him to the Lighthouse, and the three CHIMERA members were not happy to see him.

“What… is he… doing here?” May asked.

“He’s here to be debrifed.” Daisy said, “If you have a problem with that, we can discuss it later.”

“Debriefed?” Skye asked

“I’ll handle this.” Scott said, “Come, let’s go talk” he said, leading them out of the room.

Mack entered as the four left and sat down at a table, motioning for Rogers to join him.

 

“So…”  Mack began

“You’re Big Al Mackenzie?”

“Round these parts, they lust call me ‘Mack’. Do you know me?”

“You played first base for the Dodgers.”

“Skye’s a big baseball fan and she didn’t recognize him.” Daisy pointed out

“You… died… several years ago.” Rogers said “Train derailment. Bridge didn’t close and it went off into the water. I told you drowned saving a small boy…”

“Well, that’s…” Mack said, slightly shaken

“We’re here about you, Steve, and what you can do for us.” Daisy interjected.

“Where do I start?”

“The full details of your plan with Mysiri.” Mack said, regaining his composure.

“Ok…” Rogers said, adjusting his position in his chair before he began. “Mysiri would only speak to me, officially, but she was working with a number of my staff without Garret knowing it. Most notably Col. Hand, who’d taken quite a shine on her. Odd, considering the woman doesn’t like _anyone_ who isn’t signing her paycheck…”

Daisy and Mack both gave him a look.

“Sorry, I don’t get to… OK… I didn’t do much personal research on your world. I didn’t ask questions. I didn’t think. I just bought what Mysiri was selling. I’m sorry about that. Once we’d identified the proper people to recruit and send over, we’d have them work to get you to extract the gravitonium for us.

“The plan with the atomic weapons… Was the backup if you’d ever caught on. Mysiri lied to me and said you were an invasion force. Your plane destroyed an entire armored battalion, without anyone inside.”

 

Mack looked over at Daisy

“Talk to Scott…”

Mack shook his head and turned back to Rogers.

“Was there a plan C?”

“Not that I’m aware of. Mysiri’s plans were so meticulous and effective that we’d stopped making contingencies for the vast majority of her plans and projects.”

 

Daisy left Mack to question Rogers and went out to check on Scott.

“How’d they take it?” Daisy asked him.

A loud crash echoed down the passage.

“That answer your question?”

The alternate Melinda May stormed out

“I will not help him.”

“For the last time, you’re not. He’s helping us.” Scott said, “look, he’s agreed to step down, hand over power, and whatever else you decide to do to him.”

Daisy began to look towards Scott.

“He has?” May asked before Daisy could say anything.

“Yes, calm down. You’ve won this battle, now we just need to win the war.”

May took a deep breath “I’m gonna go clean that mess up I made…”

“You do that…” Daisy said as May walked away before turning to Scott

“What the hell?” She asked.

“OK, I bent the truth.”

“He never said anything about quitting.”

“If you were in his shoes, you’d run for the hills once this is over.”


	17. What it means to love

Lincoln was sitting on the bed he’d been given, lost in thought.

“You OK?” A voice asked

It was Daisy.

“Yeah… I… I’m just trying to…”

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“A lot? Do you even…”

“Yeah, I do.” She said.

“You don’t even know what I’m talking about.” Lincoln said angrly, “You watched me died on a monitor... But I… I held you as you died. I was blown to bits, but you… we had to leave you behind. I wanted to bring you. I fought with Coulson but he…” Lincoln was crying by this point

Daisy gave him a hug, and quietly prayed Scott wouldn’t wander past and take it the wrong way.

“I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m not sure I can go back, if anything, my world is probably gone… I want you to send me back to where you found me.”

“No.”

“No?”

“None of that was your fault. I’m not leaving you in the middle of nowhere, alone, so you can wallow in your guilt.”

“My death wasn’t your fault ether, but look what you went and did, Quake…”

Him using her nickname struck a minor nerve.

“Here I was trying to help, and you go and…” She said heading for the door.

“No, wait, I’m sorry.” He said “I can’t be here. I can’t do this.”

She sighed.

“I know what’s going through your mind” She told him “If I was in your shoes, it be going through mine…”

“It’s just too painful. I need to leave.”

“What’s painful? Seeing me, or seeing me with Scott?”

“Both.” He admitted. “And seeing Skye with her Simmons just makes it worse.”

“It is a little strange.”

“You don’t understand. Daisy… when the Kree captured you… they discovered you were pregnant.”

“Wait, me or…”

“No, My Daisy.” Lincoln said, sitting back down on the bed, “my wife. So not only did you die, so did our baby…”

The emotional trauma got to him and he started sobbing again.

 

Daisy left the room and ran straight for Scott, who was going over the upgrades to the plane with Fitz.

“I can’t do this…” She cried.

He took her inside the plane and shut the doors.

“What’s wrong?”

“I went to check on Lincoln. He told me the whole story. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t…”

“Can’t what?” he asked “Be with me?”

She nodded.

“You’re dumping me…”

“I don’t want to. I have to.” She said.

She started for the exit.

Scott felt a burning sensation on his arm.

“Step out that door and you’re going to die!” Scott yelled.

“What?” she asked in confusion.

As if by magic, the wing mounted gun point suddenly fired, striking the stairs.

“Holy Shit…” She cried, quickly breathing, having been knocked off her feet by the blast. “What the fuck was that? You trying to kill me if you can’t have me?”

“ _Mistress Daisy… begging your pardon_ ,” The AI in the Tallus spoke up “ _but this was my fault. I was attempting to integrate myself with the aircraft computers to enhance my capacity and accidently fired the gun. Master had nothing to do with it._ ”

Scott went to help her up.

“You tried to kill me…” she said anyway.

“That wasn’t me. I would never do that. If you want to end this, I wouldn’t stop you. Just, first, tell me what’s the matter.”

She told him what Lincoln had said.

He sat down next to her.

“That’s… wow. I can see why you’re upset.”

“everything we do we end up miserable.”

“Why can’t we be miserable together?” He said, taking her hand.

“God I love you…” She said, before moving close to him and kissing him.

“Take a deep breath” he said “And tell me how you really feel, what you really want.”

“What I want? You, me, bedroom, now.” She said, getting up and walking towards the door, starting to take her top off.

“Yes ma’am…” He said as he got up to follow, only to have her throw her top at his face for using the M word.

 

Sometime later.

“You so did that on purpose…” Scott asked his Talus as he put it back on. He’d waited for Daisy to get into the shower before consulting the alien computer, but it stayed silent.

“I order you to answer me.”

“ _Yes, Master. I did. It was necessary. She is necessary. Your relationship is necessary for the plan to complete_.”

“You tried to kill her. Whose side are you on?”

“ _The side of the plan, Master, the side of saving countless worlds and countless lives._ ”

 

 

Done with her shower, Daisy returned to Lincoln “OK, If you help us handle Mysiri, we’ll take you wherever you want to go.”

“Anywhere?”

“ ** _Anywhere_**.”


	18. Fate's shadows

Daisy returned to Scott as he stepped out of the shower himself.

“So… we good?”

“Definitely… stud.” She said, pressing herself against him.

“I would hope it’s more my personality you find attractive…” he joked.

“I say you’re more of a… package deal…”

“Oh, very funny.” He said as they began making out again.

He put his hands on her shoulders and absentmindedly let some vibrations flow into her back.

“Is this gonna happen every time?”

“any time I come into contact with another Inhuman.” He said.

“Well, I’m gonna have to teach you to use that right…”

“Oh will you now?” He said as they leaned back in to continue kissing.

“ _Master, I have completed my integration with the aircraft’s computer_.” The Tallus said over the PA.

“Good, now be quiet for a few minutes.”

“ _Master… There is something you should see.”_

“What did I just say?”

Suddenly, the lights all turned off.

“Oh come on.” Daisy yelled

“Tallus, what’s the matter?”

Part of the bathroom mirror lit up, turning into a display.

“ _I have taken the liberty to seal us off temporarily_.”

“That’s not a phrase I’d associate with Liberty.

“ _Master, with all due respect, this is serious_.”

“OK, what?”

“ _I’ve accessed much of SHIELD’s databases. Running my algorithms, there is a 95% chance there is a spy present_.”

“Wow… That’s big news.” Daisy said. “Hey Scott, did you know the spy agency base might have spies in it?”

“You know, I never considered that…” He said, in equally mocking tone.

“ _Master, mistress, please listen_.”

“Alright, alright,” Scott said “don’t get your zeros and ones in a knot. What do you have.”

The screen started flashing and with data and displays.

_“I have traced the data back to… wait… Someone is accessing some of the data in question right now.”_

“Yeah, you.” Scott said

_“level 34, section G2. Go. Now.”_

“Fine… fine… if it will make you stop.”

 

Scott and Daisy headed down to where the Tallus said their spy would be.

“You think this is a wild goose chase?” She asked in the elevator.

“While he didn’t steer me wrong to fin you, he was working with data from their ship. By himself, grandma said he can be… let’s call it eccentric.”

The doors opened, and the pair stepped out into the unused level.

“I’m having flashbacks.” Scott said.

“Speak for yourself. You didn’t see those roach things…”

The pair heard a clatter down the hall.

“If this is Lincoln again, I’m gonna scream.” Scott said.

The worked their way along the passage as the bangs and crashing continued. They eventually reached the room and peaked inside. A figure was digging into the walls, trying to get at ODN cables.

“All right,” Scott said “I put those cables in and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t fuck with my hard work.”

The figured turned around…

“Deke?” Daisy asked.

“Whoa, Is that you man?” Scott asked

The young man stumbled towards them.

“Must… Must…” he said.

“I though you said he…” Scott began

“I didn’t see it but we thought…”

Suddenly, Deke let out a monstrous hiss and lunged toward them.

The pair jumped back out into the hall.

“OK, not Deke…” Daisy said as it leapt out into the hall.

Scott quickly put his hand up and pinned… whatever it was, to the wall.

“That’s another of those fear things?” Scott asked

“We haven’t seen any in months.” Daisy said, watching the image of Fitz and Simmons grandson bend and twist in unnatural ways.

“Get the others… NOW!” Scott said.


	19. Mogwai

Daisy ran off, leaving Scott alone with… whatever the thing was.

“OK, big guy…” Scott said, struggling to keep the creature pinned with his powers. “Hold still and this will be easier for everyone.”

“must… must… must…” Was all it kept saying over and over.

“Will you shut up?” Scott yelled.

It let out another shrike as Daisy ran back with the rest of the team.

They all stared in shock for a moment at the creature.

“What’s going on?” Mack asked.

“I think I can explain…” Rogers said, stepping forward.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked it

“must… must… muster…” it said

“That’s right, master…”

“YOU SENT THIS THING!” Skye yelled and started towards him.

“Wait, wait…” Rogers said “I didn’t send it. It didn’t even know it was on the plane.”

“Then how’d you know it was on the plane.” Fitz asked

“How else would it have gotten in?” Daisy pointed out “Mysiri must have snuck it on.”

“But… it’s the size of a person.”

Rogers turned back towards it.

“Reveal yourself to your master.”

What had been the appearance of Deke Shaw quickly changed. Its skin turned a sort of dark green with orange patches. It’s eyes became yellow and it’s irises became diamond shaped.

“When the needed gravitonium deposits on my earth began to run dry. Mysiri began a program of using the dimensional drills to investigate other worlds. We didn’t have Stark’s device working yet. At a processing plant in China, one of the worlds we punched a hole into, one of these... critters wandered through the hole.”

“The SSR’s Ward told me about them.” Scott said “Looked like little teddy bears, and the adults were almost walking nightmares. I was right, does look like a gremlin…”

 The creature had finished shapeshifting. It stood about four and half feet tall, with a tuft of blue fur on top of its head. Two of its fingers reached the floor.

“This one is still young but will develop quickly into a full adult.” Rogers told them. “We caught a few and began training them when we realized they possessed some level of intelligence. But they began to escape. And spread.

“That world’s Gravitonium was of good quality but in very short supply. One of my staff members unwisely connected to the same world at a processing plant outside old Rio, thinking the beasts were distracted. They got loose there two.”

The “gremlin” was wearing a device on its chest that appeared to be Siltavion in origin.

“OK, I’m going to let you down now, and you’re going to take that off…” Scott told it.

He put his hand down, and it staggered away from the wall.

“Scott, I think you hurt it.” Jemma said.

“It tried to hurt me, what was I supposed to do?”

“Kill it.” Rogers said

“Shut up.” Daisy told him.

“Once it grows up, we lose all control.” Rogers said. “It’s going to have to be put down sooner or later.”

“Not happening” Daisy said.

“Do you want my help? Then you might want to listen to me.” Rogers said.

“Maybe we could just send it home?” Skye said.

Rogers looked at her “Great idea… if you don’t mind getting ripped to shreds. You should have Agent Seven’s memories, you should know about these things.”

“Don’t you dare speak to my wife like that” Jas yelled.

“Oh look, it’s the spymaster’s daughter. I pull your family out of squalor and this is the thanks I get.”

“Thanks? Thanks? YOUR PEOPLE KILLED MY SISTER!” Jas screamed “Ran her over in jeep and didn’t even stop to see if she was alright.”

Rogers face turned sullen.

“I’m sorry…” he said

“Sorry? That’s it? Thirty years and…”

“And what? I didn’t know.” Rogers yelled back “It had nothing to do with selecting your parents. You said it yourself, the people in the jeep didn’t stop. They might not have noticed. If they didn’t notice it, they wouldn’t have reported it.”

“Um… guys” Fitz said

“Keep your ‘apologizes’ for someone who cares.” Jas fired back at Rogers.

“Um, hello?” Fitz said again.

“I come here to help and this is what I walk into…” Rogers said with his hands on his hips. “When I was your age, we respected our elders.”

“ENOUGH!” Fitz screamed.

The others turned and looked at him.

“The thing is gone…”

In all the commotion, no one had noticed the Gremlin had run off.


	20. Little wonder

“Can it become invisible?” Scott asked as they began to search for the Gremlin.

“Not that I’m aware.” Rogers said.

They heard a thud behind them. They didn’t need to go far; the Gremlin was hiding in a work cart parked nearby.

“Master commands you out.” Rogers said, but the green alien just curled up in a ball.

“Out of the way.” Jemma said before leaning towards the creature. “Hello there little guy.” She said, but it still cowered.

“What did I do?” Jemma asked

“Not you, me” Jas said “It doesn’t know the difference.”

Daisy stepped forward.

“Hi there.” She said. The creature peaked out. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m gonna take you home.”

“hom… hom… hom…” it said.

“That’s right. Home.” Daisy said. She offer her hand and the gremlin crawled out towards her.

“That’s a good little guy.” She said “No more big scary people.”

“So I guess we take him to Stark?” Skye said.

“Probably for the best. Get him home the soonest.” Scott said, putting his arm around Daisy “Back in a few.”

The pair and the small creature disappeared in a blue flash as Scott activated the 5001.

 

The group dispersed back to what they were doing.

 

“Dr. Simmons… If I may speak to you.” Rogers said walking up behind the woman.

“You’re not getting anywhere near them.”

“Pardon?”

“The babies. You’re not getting anywhere near them.”

“Why would I want to…?”

“You mean you don’t… know?”

“Know what?”

 Jas was confused. Rogers even more so.

“About what Garret…” Jas was stunned.

“You and I…” Jas began “God this is a punch to the gut. When ‘Skye” and I decided to have children, was asked Major Ward to be the father, to supply us… oh hell. I asked him to jerk in a cup for us so Skye could get me pregnant.”

“And you’re telling me this because...?” Rogers asked

“Because between proving the sample and us getting it, Garret switched it. For a sample gather from you…”

Rogers was shocked.

“I’m the father…?” He said. He clutched his chest and leaned against the far wall.

“someone get help!” Jas screamed.

 

“you gave the man a heart attack.” Jemma said to her twin, stepping out into the hall

“How does a super solider get a heart attack.” Agent May asked.

“He’s a hundred years old.” Jemma reminded them “He’s not exactly the man who fought in WWII.”

“I shouldn’t have told him about the twins.” Jas said “I didn’t realize he knew nothing.”

 

It really hadn’t sunk in to her mind till just then that the man she spent all her life loathing was the father of her children.

“Is he alright?” Skye asked

“Yeah, he’ll be fine.” Jemma said.

“I should apologize.” Jas said. Skye took her hand and the two went inside.

 

A bright blue flash filled the hall, leaving Scott and Daisy standing there.

“What’d we miss?” Scott asked, looking around.

 

“I want you to know I had nothing to do with that.” Rogers said as the two young women walked up to him. “I should have been more suspicious when Garret was looking through my trash.”

“So you knew nothing about ‘America’s Tomorrow?” Skye asked, handing him the folder.

“How did you get this?” He asked.

“Scott stole it.”

Rogers read the file. “That son of a bitch.” The old man said.

Jas and Skye realized Rogers felt about as violated as they did.

“Well” Rogers continued. “he’s dead now. Not much we can do about it.”

“Sorry to break up this little family get together” Scott said to three sets of stink eyes “but we need to get a move on. Your Col. Hand seems to be up to something.”


	21. Storm Clouds

“You shouldn’t be moving.” Jemma said, trying to push Rogers back towards the bed.

“I’m nearly 100, kid, I know what can and can’t kill me.” He said, as he picked her up and put her to the side like a small child.

“I got us all into this mess, and I’m going to get us out.” He said. He looked at Skye and Jas. “I know you don’t trust me. I know you hate me. But…”

“So being a father suddenly makes you do an about face?” Their May said, walking into the room “Someone should have done that a long time ago.”

“No…” He began “Well, it helped, but I have all the information now, and I realize what kind of man I’ve become. Scott, you were right. I am worse the Hitler. Worse than the man I gave everything up to stop. I fought a monster. And then became one. Because I was weak”

“You’re not…” Scott began.

“Weak of the mind, weak of the heart.” Rogers continued as he exited the room.

 

May went over to Jemma

“Did he have any of that alien crap in his body.”

“No.” Jemma said, shaking her head “This is genuinely him.”

“I guess people can change.”

“Or in this case…” Jas said “Change back…”

 

As they approached Zephyr Zero, Daisy walked out carrying the shield Thor had given her.

“You might want this.” She said, handing it towards Rogers.

“I broke mine when I fought Bucky.” Rogers said. He held it in his hands before handing it back to her. “you take it.”

“I’m not…”

“Just take it” Skye said, walking past.

 

Mysiri was sulking in her quarters. It wasn’t something she liked doing. It was a weakness, being a _Gultish_. She could think like they could, and she hated it. She hated this rock. She hated this dimension. She wanted to go home. A light on her desk flashed. It was a signal that Rogers was back and wanted to talk.

She climbed into a small travel pod and made the short trip over to the White House, stepping out into the Rose garden.

“Nice to see you back.” Mysiri said, entering the Oval Office. “You wanted to speak to me?”

“Yes” Rogers said sternly “Effective immediately, I’m terminating our agreement. You are to take the resources you’ve already gathered and leave.”

He stood, leaned forward and rested his finger tips on the table.

“I know what you did.” He said. “I know what you did to her.”

“Too bad.” She said “I know 70 years is a long time for you humans so I’m not surprised you don’t remember the exact terms.”

“Oh, I remember.” He said, standing face to face with her “And I am not scared of you.”

“Oh, you poor old fool.” She said with a laugh “CHIMERA dumped their cure into the water supply over a week ago. Your troops are abandoning their posts and abandoning you by the hour. They know the truth now.”

“Well, not a big deal. I really don’t need an army. I’ve found something else. I’ve found a SHIELD.”

With that, Scott, Skye and Daisy jumped up from behind the couch.

“Well, dear aunt, you seem to be in quite the pickle…” Scott taunted her.

“Doesn’t look like it to me.” She told him.

“You’re outnumbered four to one.” Skye said.

“Am I? let me check?” Mysiri said in condescending tone. “What do you think Leopold?”

“I think you should just stop taunting them.” He said, appearing behind the three.

“Move and your dead.” He said.

“How about you, Victoria?” Mysiri added

“I can get used to this” The older woman said, suddenly behind Rogers, holding a gun to his head.

“And you John? How are you feeling?”

“Feeling better than ever.” The Garret said, suddenly sitting on a chair against the wall.

Mysiri looked around. “I think I’m good…”


	22. Heat Lighting

“You know, Trivlen…” Mysiri began

“Please stop calling me that…” Scott said, exasperated.

“Why should I? It’s your name, as ordained in the great list. It was selected for you hundreds if not thousands of years ago.”

“My name is Scott.” He said, waving his hand.

“That’s not going to work….” Mysiri said shaking her head.

Scott looked over at Rogers “You were supposed to turn that thing off.”

“I can’t, there’s no off button.”

“You should have…”

“ENOUGH!” Leopold yelled “Just kill them.”

“NO!” Another voice yelled. “I want them back.”

A hooded figure entered from a side door and stood before them.

 “So, you’re the one who took them from me…” Hive said, pulling her hood down.

“oh crap…” Scott said.

“I’ll take it back now.” Mysiri said.

“Take what?”

“My _Tallusotfamjurca_. I know you have it.”

“Haven’t the slightest clue what you’re talking about.

“Stop stalling.” Leopold yelled.

“If you’re in such a God damn hurry, Mr. Fitz,” Garret yelled “why don’t you just shoot them yourself?”

“You will not shoot what’s mine” Hive interjected.

“Corpses don’t get votes.” Hand said.

“Shut up Vickey.” John said.

“You promised them to me. That I could have her and Simmons as my pets.” Hand said to Mysiri.

The entire room was suddenly looking at her.

“When all was said and done, I get to go with you and keep those two for myself.”

“No offense, but I don’t date older women.” Skye said. “Now if you were about ten years young with sweet ass and nice rack…”

Daisy and Scott gave the girl a look and she immediate stopped talking.

 

Hive was furious.

“You rebuilt me to lead.” It, her… whatever, said to Mysiri “You told me you foresaw it. The rise of an Inhuman empire, with my… daughter” Hive turned and looked at Skye, who felt a shiver run up her spine “by my side…”

“Why would you get to go with them?” Garret asked Hand “And why has she been talking to you all these years and ignoring me?”

“This planet is dying John, can’t you see it?” Hand cried. “In 30 years there will be nothing left.”

“So, what about the rest of us?” Leopold asked, “You were supposed to take me along.”

“Garret was none too thrilled. “You we’re just going to leave us here while you rode off to safety with your little harem?”

“John…” Mysiri began

“And you said you were going to fix everything if I’m not mistaken.”

“Well, that was the plan.”

Mysiri looked over at Scott, who had a smug look on his face

“Well, my dear aunt, it seems you’ve been writing checks you can’t cash…”

“SHUT… UP!”

“Make me…”

Mysiri walked over and wrapped her hand around his throat.

“I can’t kill you… But I can still make you STOP TALKING!”

“Come on… is that all you got?” He choked out.

“Hive…” Mysiri said with frustration “Take him.”


	23. Winds are picking up

The ancient Inhuman didn’t move.

“If you were paying attention…” John said, sitting back down

Mysiri looked over at him, then at Hive.

 

“I can’t take him, not with the inhibitor running.” Hive said “I’m barely holding myself together.”

“Well then don’t just stand there.” Mysiri said with a frown “Someone turn it off!”

Garret stood back up and walked over to a bust of Abraham Lincoln on the table. He began to turn the top of Lincoln’s hat like a combination lock. After a moment, the top popped off, revealing Siltavion tech inside.

“You…” Rogers said with a scowl.

“Sir, You’re like a father to me.” Garret said “But in the end, you’re just as dangerous as they are.”

“Is that how you really feel about me? What else haven’t you told me? Perhaps the fact I’m a father?”

“Ah… You found out about that. Been saving these just in case you did.” Garret said, reaching into his uniform pocket and pulling out some Cigars “Last known Cubans…” He said offering one to Rogers

“I don’t smoke…”

“Come on, Mr President. Live a little. Because we both know you’re not walking out of this room…”

“Are you threating me?” Rogers asked

“No, just stating what I felt was the obvious.” Garret said, eyeing Hand and Leopold.

“John… You’re fired. Hand, you two.”

“WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TURN THE DAMN MACHINE OFF?” Mysiri screamed as Scott started to turn blue. “DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING AROUND HERE?”

“Fine, fine…” Garret said with a huff.

He pressed a button within the bust and a dim hum that they’d not really noticed before stopped.

“Hive…” Mysiri said “If you would be so kind.”

Hive reached out and the parasites flew into Scott’s body as Mysiri let go of his neck.

“Oh God…” Daisy muttered. She wanted to fight back, but Leopold had a gun right to the back of her head.

“Take my daughter and follow me.” Hive told Scott, leaving Daisy and Rogers alone.

Garret switched the inhibitor back on and sat down on the couch.

“What do we do with this one?” Leopold asked, “Can I kill her now?”

“If Hive gets the other one, I want this one.” Hand said.

“Jesus Christ, Vic, we get it, you’ve got a crush on her, you don’t need to Burma Shave it.” Garret said. “Mr. Fitz, Cuff Miss Johnson and sit her down.”

Leopold didn’t move.

“Come on Mr. Fitz, get with the program.”

Leopold looked like a child who was one move away from wining a game being called inside for dinner.

“You are killing me.” Leopold said and he did his job.

“Steve, may I call you Steve?” Garret asked, turning his attention to Rogers again.

“You can call me Mr. Preside…” Rogers began before Garret interrupted him.

“You don’t get it, do you?” He laughed “You’re not in charge, you were never in charge, they were. You were a little puppet on a string. They told you to dance, you danced.”

He turned to Mysiri “Make him dance.”

Mysiri just eyed the man with contempt.

“Come on, make him dance.”

“I’m glad you’re having fun.” She said in reply.

“Oh, you have no idea.” Garret said as he made his creepy smile. “Steve, while you were out and about, Mysiri and I here had a nice long chat as I recovered from my wounds. And boy oh boy, did she tell me some interesting things…”

 

Hive lead Scott and Skye down a side staircase into a passageway leading out into the office buildings surrounding the White House.

“Mysiri spent years gathering individuals with Inhuman potential for me to lead.” Hive said as they entered a room. There was a small army of soldiers in chairs, not moving. They were plugged in to large chairs that were pumping a weird, orange fluid into them.

“These are going to help me bring humanity to it’s full potential, through us.”

“They’re inhumans?” Scott asked

“Not yet.” Hive said “Terrigen is hard to come by. But with the genetic enhancements that Mysiri gave me, my powers to share myself with others are boundless.”

“But you used it on me?”

“A calculated risk. One that we were hoping would result in the perfect solider.”

“We?”

“The others and I.”

“Skye and Daisy?”

“No… But you’ll meet them soon.”

“It’s an ingenious plan.” Scott said, looking over the documents on the table “Too bad it has one, itty bitty fatal flaw.”

“Scott, please, snap out of it.” Skye begged

“Darling, please be quiet” Hive said “What flaw would that would that be, Agent Riley?”

“It’s quite simply really. You…” He said leaning right into her face “…touched me…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you need to know, Burma Shave, a company that made shaving products, used to advertise with small road side signs. Instead of one big billboard, these were small signs with only a few words on it, spaced apart. Usually there were six, with the last sign just Burma Shave's logo.
> 
> They started with basic slaes pitches, but slowly evovled into pun based humor and PSAs. and the one time they promised a free trip to Mars if you returned 900 empty jars of thier shaving creme and someone tried to clame it. (they setteled for a trip to a german town whose name sounds like Mars.)


	24. Thunder echos

Scott snapped his fingers and the infected soldiers suddenly stood and all turned around to face Hive.

Hive’s face fell as she felt them being torn from her.

“What did you do?” She cried, in panic. “How… no…”

“Nothing. It’s simply how my powers work.” He said with a smirk “You touch me, you tried to take me, I automatically copy your powers. Which means I have control over all your parasites that aren’t in you right now.”

He held out his hands and the parasites that were in him exited, coalescing into a ball in his hand before dying.

Scott looked at his new friends.

“Get her.” He said as he grabbed Skye’s hand and ran.

The soldiers jumped her and began to beat on her. Hive’s only choice was to consume them to both stop them and undo the damage.

Scott and Skye ran out of the tunnel and into the main hallway.

“OK, Hive’s busy.” He said into his com “Talk to me people.”

“We’re almost inside.” Lincoln called back.

“Great.” Scott said “Things are going exactly as planned on this end.”

 

Back upstairs…

“You know, Steve,” Garret continued “I think the most interesting part of all this is how you let her order around my people, sending some to their deaths, and you don’t even bother to keep me in the loop.”

“John, that was not me.” Rogers said, shaking his head

“Of course it wasn’t you, you fool!” The man yelled “You are NOTHING.”

At this point, Scott walked back into the room, a look of panic of his face.

“Something is wrong with Hive. I don’t know what to do.”

“Define wrong?” Garret asked

“She just keeled over and I… I’m not sure what’s wrong.”

“The inhibitor is making her sick.” Mysiri said “We might have to shut it off and get her outside of it’s range.”

“Please, do it. Quickly. I’m not sure how much longer she’ll last.”

Garret looked pissed at the interruption, but returned to the device.

“If you so much as blink, I’ll kill you” Leopold told Daisy, who’d been sitting quietly on the couch, as he held is gun right up to the side of her head.

Garret then reached back into the device and switched the field back off.

“thank you so much.” Scott said, with a look of relief on his face.

BANG!!

THUD…


	25. Here comes the rain...

For poor Leopold, everything happened in an instant. He’d had his gun pointed right at the invader’s head, ready to kill her had the others only let him.

But, suddenly, he felt a massive weight, a force, on his hand. It felt like he’d stuck his hand out to try to stop and express train. Except the weight was pushing it upwards. This seemed impossible. The force pushed the gun up, just past the top of the girl’s head when something even more impossible happened.

He felt the trigger move on it’s own.

The gun fired.

It had fired itself.

A single bullet streaked across the Oval Office.

It found it’s target within an instant.

Before Leopold could even blink, the bullet from his gun, slammed right into the forehead of Victoria Hand. Her eyes went strange, and she fell back against the windows. In almost like slow motion, he watched as her body slowly fell to the ground.

The closest thing to a friend he had in the world was dead.

It was at this point, in the corner of his one good eye, he saw more movement.

Before he could react, he felt a fist striking him in his blindside, sending him doubling over the furniture, and crashing into the far wall. As he lost consciousness, he could only curse at the world.

 

Garret felt himself flung against the wall and pinned in place. Leopold was now out like a light. The only threat remaining in the room was Mysiri, who quickly used her own telekinesis to pin Rogers and Daisy.

“I don’t like being tricked, _fuufalli_.” Mysiri said to Scott.

Daisy looked over at him

“Trust me, you don’t want to know…” He told her before looking at the angry alien. “You really are sure of your superiority.”

“To us, they might as well be bacteria.” Mysiri said in reply.

The standoff continued

“Your abilities are weaker.” She told him “You’re exhausted, bearly slept, hardly ate; your focus is lacking. Even a stray tought and you could let go of him. I, on the other hand, have full control of my powers. I don’t even need to use my hands. You know who uses their hands? Babies. Little ones wanting the blankets or their toys. Then again, you’re what? 30 years old? To us, you would still be a baby. You know how far apart my sister and I are in age? About 120 Terran years. And we’re still considered youths. I have been training and fighting since before your precious little apes could figure out…

“yadda yadda yadda, blah-blah-blah, yackity schmackity, save the ‘Battlefield Earth’ speech for someone who cares.” Scott interrupted.

“ _Gadtlack Vord Codfal Sumetva!_ ”

“Jesus!” Scott said in shock, “Kiss your mother with that mouth?”

“You are nothing more than a petulant child!” Mysiri screamed at the top of her lungs “and it’s high time, and your elder, that I DID something about it.”

She pulled a small device out of her pocket and pressed a button.

“Come out of hiding, little ones.”

Scott heard a familiar hissing sound. Two of the Gremlins were behind him, and these were full adults. They looked like the Pokémon Machoke with long, bladed fingers and a mouth off a Great White. There were black bands around their heads, control devices that allowed Mysiri to order these otherwise wild beasts around.

“Oh boy….” Scott said, “Now would be great.”

Skye leapt from behind the door and blasted Mysiri with her powers. This distracted her long enough for Daisy and Rogers to move towards Scott, while Skye went on the offensive with Mysiri.

“You messed with the wrong girl.” Skye said, as she landed punch after punch.

She grabbed Mysiri by the shirt and tossed her out the open door.

Daisy broke the cuffs and stood next to Scott. The green monsters were eyeing them, in a way that felt all too much like they were licking their lips.

“So what happened? Downstairs.”

“Ponder this; what happens when you dial your own phone number.”

“What?”

“Later.” He turned to Rogers “Is there a spot where the floorboards creek?”

“What?”

“Is there a spot where the floorboards creek? Fitz, Simmons and Lincoln will be done any second and we’re going to need to be able to fight these things, so, is there a spot where the floor creeks or not?”

“Left side of the coffee table.” Rogers said, pointing

“Thank you, was that so hard.

 

Scott held his hand out over the spot Rogers had pointed to. The floor shook and out from the ground shot a crystalline bladed sword.

“Where the hell did that come from?” Rogers asked in confusion.

“The Andromeda Galaxy…” Scott said, “Right where Grandma said it would be.”

And not a moment too soon as a loud electrical pop was heard, followed by the two creatures stumbling for a moment.

“I guess they’re done…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think "Taz-mania" is one of the more under appreciated 90's Looney Tunes shows.


	26. The eye of the storm

“Download is complete” Fitz said, pulling the wire from the Tallus and from the heavy desvice on his back

“So, now what? Anything else?” Jemma asked.

“We get out of here.” Fitz said, “Lincoln, let’s go.”

“Great, this does make me tired after a while you know.” He yelled back as he shocked another black suit running at him.

The three had used the distraction of Daisy, Scott and Skye to sneak into Mysiri’s ship. Scott had given them the Tallus to act as a guide.

“ _Master Fitz, there is one more thing you must do_.”

The lights in one of the passage ways began to flash in sequence, beaconing them down.

The trio followed the passage down toward what looked like a dead end until a door opened on a nearby wall.

“Did you do that?” Jemma asked Fitz.

Her husband shook his head “That was not me, it was him.” Pointing at his wrist

They peered inside. A door in the floor opened and a metal pod slid upwards.

The hatch on the pod popped open and it deposited a young woman onto the floor.

“What the hell?” Jemma asked

“Fitz, Simmons?” They heard May ask over the coms “Are you done yet? Daisy and the others might need us.”

“What do we do?”

The young woman stirred.

“You help me, of course. If you let me die here, Scott would not take it well.”

 

“Are they done yet?” Mack asked as he shot two more approaching black suits.

“They said they’re almost ready.” May replied from inside the jet. They’d landed _Zephyr Zero_ in the middle of the SSR complex.

“Yo-yo, be ready.” Mack said to the young woman next to him. “We’re gonna need to grab and go.”

The suited figures suddenly stopped attacking. They began moving quickly towards the exit.

“Mack” May yelled “I’ve got the signal.”

Mack nodded to Elaina and she raced off and back with the infiltration team, plus one.

“Who the hell is this?”

“You wouldn’t believe us if we told you.” Jemma said.

“Where’s the other me?” May asked

The looked out across the base as they saw the other May running, carrying a large file box. Elaina raced out and pulled her abord.

“Let’s get out of here!” Mack yelled as May fired up the engines.

 

Mysiri was amazed at what her little science experiment was accomplishing, she just wished it wasn’t at her own expense.

“I made you, child.” She said to Skye “And I’m going to unmake you…”

Mysiri focused on Skye and sent the her crashing into the ground. Skye felt like someone had turned up gravity.

“You really think you can stop me?”

“Maybe” Skye said, willing the strength to reach inside the jacket she had on and pull out a small grenade.

“Let’s see you stop this…” Skye said as she dropped it, pin missing.

Mysiri quickly willed it out onto the lawn, away from her. She realized quickly it was a fake, but another noise caught her attention. A low rumble, off in the distance. Followed by the sound crashing water and a faint explosion, coming from the one direction she wished it didn’t. She lowered her guard for only a moment, but it was enough to be tackled again as Skye punched her repeatedly in the face.

“And stay down!” Skye screamed.


	27. Driving Winds

The giant gremlins hissed and roared as they lumbered toward Daisy, Scott and Rogers.

“Can we try talking them down?” Daisy asked.

“These things are practically feral” Rogers said, “They just want to eat us.”

“Great pep talk there.” She told him.

One of them swung it’s giant, bladed talons at them. Scott caught them with the sword, and Daisy blasted the creature back. The second tried the same, only to have Rogers hit it square in the chest with the coffee table.

The creature stumbled for a moment but took a second swing with its other hand. Scott Jumped in and swung his new sword, cleaving the creatures arm clean off.

“HA! How you like that?” He said, pleased with himself.

“You’re an idiot” Rogers said.

The creature’s arm quickly stopped bleeding and within a second, began to regrow. Meanwhile, the hand of the floor began to flop around.

“How well can these things regenerate?”

“Do you have to ask.”

“You two quit stalling and get a move on. We need to get outside.” Daisy yelled as she made for the door. Scott and Rogers quickly followed.

“If they can regenerate, how the fuck do we kill it.”

“Burn it.”

“With what?” Daisy asked.

“I think I know.” Scott said, he quickly had his figure in his ear. “May, can you hear me, I need you to make a pass over the White House lawn and press the yellow switch on panel 19.”

While Scott was talking, Skye came running over holding her hand at the wrist.

“What happened.”

“Punched her lights out. I think I broke my wrist.”

“Powered punches?” Daisy asked. Skye nodded.

“That’s why I wear my gauntlets. We’re going to need to get you some, but first. We need to deal with these guys.” Daisy said looking at the lumbering monsters.

“There were two of them.” Skye noted

“Yeah, there were.” Daisy said, looking at Scott.

“OK, not my brightest moment.”

“What’s your plan?” Rogers asked.

“That.” Scott said, pointing at then arriving jet

“Them” Pointing at the twin young women

“and these.” He said, holding out his hands. He tapped the 5001 and a glow appeared around his wrist.

“Manual targeting and control. Daisy and Skye, I need you to keep them within the target area. Wing tips guns don’t swivel down far enough, so all I have is the turret. The guns have a fifteen second recharge between shots. Any bits that get loose before we finish…”

The two girls moved to the sides and began firing off quake blasts to force the three gremlins together.

Scott manipulated the gun turret on the plane to target them and began firing.

The shots of energy ripped through the gremlins, burning them with each blast.

“It looks like it’s working.” Rogers said

With that, the mass of burning bio matter began to undulate and coalesce into the larger, single form.

“You had to say it?” Scott said to Rogers.

“Scott!”

“On it!” He yelled as he flung her his sword, and in one swift motion, she caught it and swung it clean through the creature’s neck, while Skye blasted it backwards, knocking it over.”

“Guys,” Scott called into his com “You might want to hang on, this is might get hairy.”

 

“What?” Fitz asked

“Everyone buckle up!” Mack yelled

 

Scott remotely flipped the plane nose over, firing all four of the gun ports at one. The mess of gremlin began to burn.

“We did it…” Daisy said, trying to catch her breath.

Before they had the chance, Mysiri had gotten up and was making a break for her travel pod.

“We’ve got a runner.”

“Oh no you don’t!” Skye yelled, chasing after Mysiri. She blasted herself airborne with her powers and and came down right on the running alien, tackling her for a third time.

“I said STAY!”


	28. Distant sunlight

May brought the Zephyr in for a landing as Daisy, Rogers and Scott jogged over to catch up with Skye.

“Do it.” Mysiri said “kill me. Kill me like you killed the others. Just get it over with. You know you want to.”

Scott stood over her.

“None of this would have brought them back.” He said. “Why?”

“She did tell you everything, didn’t she?”

“yes, Mysi, he knows about Karos and Valli” A voice said.

The two Mays were helping the still defrosting Lilliantin down the ramp.

“ _Lautuch_ …” Mysiri asked “you’re alive?”

“I’m sorry for your loss. I truly am.” Scott said

“How could you…”

“It’s a human trait. It’s called ‘empathy’. You should try it sometime. Oh wait, you view it as a weakness. From what I’m told. He didn’t.”

“It doesn’t make a difference if you won’t do it. Ill just do it myself…” Mysiri said, pulling an object out of her pocket.

Scott quickly grabbed it out of her hands “No easy way out for you. Lot of people are dead because of you and your friends.”

“Why…” Mysiri began to cry as Lilliantin slipped the inhibitor ring around her head. “My baby… my baby…”

Lilliantin put her arms around her sister and let her cry.

 

“what was that all about.” Skye asked as the group stepped back.

“The truth.”  Scott said quietly

“ I’ve been withholding some information about what was happening. Sworn to secrecy by a certain someone…” He glanced toward his grandmother “When they came for grandma, they brought something else back with them. A disease they had no immunity to. It killed several crew members quickly before they could isolate it. Among the casualties were Mysiri’s husband Karos and their daughter Vallian. And she blamed Earth, in her grief.”

“she had a family?” Daisy asked

“You and I both know what people will go through to get someone they love back. That’s why she wanted the time device more than anything else. Not to save Director Carter as part of the deal with Rogers, but to save her loved ones. Or be with them again.”

He held out the item, a small plastic ball with some powered inside.

“Diviner metal?” Daisy asked.

“Most likely.” He said “She was going to kill herself with it. In her mind, she had no more purpose. Her ship is gone. Her only way home. She’s stuck here now.”

“We did that… We took it all from her.” Skye said

“And you wonder why I didn’t tell you.”

 

“Mysiri’s passed out.” Lilliantin said “help me get her inside.”

Mack and Fitz came over and carried her onto the plan.

Scott walked over to his grandmother.

“What are you going to do with her?”

“I really don’t know. I didn’t think that far ahead.”

“I did what you wanted.” Scott said, looking at the rising cloud of smoke “As much as I don’t like it.”

“You did what he wanted.” Lilliantin told him

“What was he like? Your father?”

“He… He didn’t see the world like most of our people. They considered him… disabled. He was…”

“Like us?”

“I guess you could put it that way. That’s glossing over a lot of the finer details but it’s the closest to making sense.

“Our society thought along lines ‘If you can do something, you should do it.’ If you had the strength to take a planet, take it. Even if you didn’t need it. My father belived in doing only what you needed. That because you had the strength to take that planet, it didn’t mean it was yours before you even got there.

“He gave me that sword. He said that I would need it to save my sister from herself one day…”

A loud boom echoed from the street.

 

The group ran around the side of the building.

“Guys, we’re not done.” Fitz said

The remaining black suits were rampaging through the city, overturning cars and attacking the civilians.

“Everyone grab a gun” Daisy said.


	29. What make come

They ran out in front of the building, joining the remaining soldiers.

“Sir, what’s going on? Why are they?”

“Sargent, there are civilians being attacked and you’re standing around asking questions?” Rogers barked.

“Sir No Sir.”

“that’s better. We need to clear everything out, let them handle it.”

“The invaders?”

“No, we’re more like…” Scott began to say before Daisy held up a finger. “Don’t do it.”

“Is this why you insisted on leaving it on the plane?” Skye asked.

“The two of you… seriously. Not now.”

“Fine…” her sister said.

Mack came up behind them, having returned to the jet for his shotgun axe and was carrying the one thing Daisy hoped he wouldn’t.

“Alright. Let’s get this party started.” He said, handing her the shield, while she grimaced.

“These guys don’t respond to powers. Bullets work best.” Scott said

“Can’t we free them?” Skye asked

“These are not like Iris or Captain Lance.” He admitted “They’re more… failed attempts at you.”

“Oh…” She said with a slightly grossed-out look.

 

“Still can’t believe we’re helping him.” Chimera May said to her doppelganger.

“Just get ready to shoot.” Shield May said, getting the Zephyr back airborne.

 

The black suits charged into the park, ripping up trees and the street furniture as they went. Daisy had to push some soldiers to the ground to avoid them being crushed by a car.

The fighting was quick and fierce, bullets were flying left and right. The team began to spread out into the streets surrounding the White House.

Daisy noticed a few black suits going into a nearby building and she followed, trailing them upstairs into an office. One was throwing things at some scared workers, another was tossing desks out windows.

Daisy flung the shield at them. It bounced off one, struck the other, and came right back to her.

“Cool…” She said to herself.

The two black suits turned and charged at her. She held up the shield to deflect their blows, while yelling for the office workers to run. The black suits turned and threw a large, heavy desk across the room at  her. She ducked out of the way, but the desk started taking out support pillars. The floor above her began to buckle. She held out the shield over her head before…

She was outside. She moved the shield from above her head and looked around as the building she was just in collapsed.

“Thanks Yo-yo.” Daisy said.

“For what? I’m about two blocks away with Mack? What happened.”

“You didn’t just…?”

 

Two figures were standing on a nearby rooftop, suited head to toe in full body armor.

“Do you think she saw me?” One figure said to the other.

“You grabbed her and carried her out. She’s going to notice that even if she didn’t get a glimpse of you at the speed you move.”

“But did she _see_ me?”

“How should I know? You want me to go down there and ask?” The second said “be like ‘Hi, you don’t know us, be we just wanted to know if…”

“I mean, we could. You’ve never wanted to meet them like this? He’s not even…”

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this…” The second figure said, holding their hand to their helmet “ _You_ who constantly talk about interference? _You_ , who complains when I go off the slightest bit off protocol…”

“All right... all right… Don’t get your panties in a wad. I’ll send us back.” The first said “At least I’m not obsessed with other people’s opinions of me.”

“Shut up.”

The second figure looked down at the confused Daisy as Scott ran up to her. The first figure tapped a device on his wrist, a white field surrounded them, and a portal opened before them. The first quickly jumped through.

“See you soon…” The second figure said down towards Scott and Daisy as she turned and entered the portal.


	30. Final Fight

It took about half an hour, but eventually, the black suits were all dead.

“alright everyone, let’s go home.” May said. The Zephyr, however began to throw up warning signals.

“Scott,” she called into her com “I’m getting warnings here I don’t recognize.”

“Just get her down, I’ll take care of it.”

May landed the plane, and Scott found a panel open in the flight hardware bay in the rear, part of the new systems Stark had installed for them.

“it’s one of the Stark… Oh no…” Scott said, running forward into the passenger compartment.

Mysiri was gone.

“She must have tried to make the plane jump,” he said to the others, “machine instead sent her by herself. Stark could probably track her, I’ll have to have him look into it.”

 

A day later, and Stark had found no signs of Mysiri. Where ever she was, she was somewhere a Stark Device hand never been. Stark provided the team with a small, air launched satellite to measure the damage done to the planet by the Gravitonium processing. But they’d also figured a different use for it.

“Good evening, everyone” Rodgers said into the camera.

“This is a momentous occasion, the first live coast to coast television broadcast in our nation’s history. In a way, I wish this wasn’t necessary, but at the same time, deep down, I’m actually glad this day has come.”

“I’m speaking to you live via a machine, placed high up in the sky by some special… friends of mine I guess you can call them, who brought it with them. It is feeding the signal across the country, without the need for wires or repeaters.

“Many years ago, I lost someone I cared deeply about. I met someone soon after, who promised me she could bring that person back to me. She helped me, or at least I thought she was helping me.

“She told me things, and I trusted her. But she was a liar. She was a thief. A monster… a remorseless killer. The very kind of people I swore to protect the freedom loving people of the world from. And in trusting her, I became just like her.

 “I’ve let myself… I failed you all. I failed the trust this nation gave me and I abused it. I hurt you all. I might have even doomed us all…

“But I have hope. The hope that with the right help and the right leadership, our world can survive. So, I will announce the follow. First, the disbandment of the SSR. Second, The removal of the SCRA and all related acts. And lastly, my resignation, effective immediately, as president.”

A murmur passed through the assembled crowd of reporters.

“Due to Vice-President Malick’s untimely passing a few months ago, the office has been vacant, and I have yet to name a replacement. As such, Speaker Mace will be replacing me.”  


Rogers gestured to the man seated in front of him, who confusingly looked around.

“Come on Jeffery, get on up here.”

Mace rose from his seat and joined Rogers at the podium

“Mr. President, are you sure about this?” Mace asked.

“I have it on good authority you’re perfect for the job, besides, it’s in the rules.”

Rogers pulled out a bible.

“Mr. Mace, if you would raise your right hand…”

 

The SHIELD agents, watching from the window, stepped back into the garden.

“So... I guess this is goodbye.” Alt! May said to Skye.

“I guess so. I think we might be able to finagle a visit or two. Jas is such a sentimental type when you get right down to it.”

They were suddenly joined by a bright red streak as a man appeared in a yellow suit, holding a woman by the arm.

“Professor Thawne.” Scott acknowledged.

“Welcome Back…” Daisy added before looking at his companion, the alternate Bobbi Morse “well, look what the cat dragged in…”

“Agent Riley, Agent Johnson…” Thawne said “Do you two have ANY idea how much cleaning up I’ve had to do?”

“No, but I’m guessing the time stream appreciates it.”

“Did you or Barry save me before? Someone moving really fast pulled me out of a collapsing building.”

“As far as Allen and his friend are concerned, nothing of our trip ever happened.”

“You eased their memories?”

“No, I didn’t. They just forgot.”

The group looked at each other in confusion.

“While I might be a genius, I’m as stumped as the rest of you.”

“Why do you remember?” May asked

Thawne pulled on Bobbi’s arm “having this one in close proximity might be the reason. She’s your problem now.”

And with that, he raced off.

“How did he get here?” Daisy asked

“Let’s worry about that later.”

 “You said you’d find a place for me.” Morse said to Scott.

“Yeah… Have not gotten to that point yet, sorry.”

“I’ll take her.” The alternate May said.

“You sure.” Daisy asked

“I’ve got some ideas. Should get her on a straight and narrow path.”

 

They boarded the plane and rose off the ground. Within a moment, it had vanished in a blue flash.

“What are you going to do to me?” Bobbi asked, scared.

“Nothing you don’t deserve.” May said “You can start by addressing me as ‘Mistress…”


	31. What was and what should have been

“Have you got everything?” Jas asked. The two were packing up to move in temporarily with Scott in New York.

“What is there to have? Skye asked “We’ve got a few changes of clothes and the stuff… I bought for the twins.

“Before you guys leave, we have something for you…” Jemma said, handing them an envelope “Before Fitz and I took out their ship… we ran through the computer and downloaded a lot of data thanks to Scott’s AI. We went through the data and we found an interesting file.”

“The history of your world, had the Siltavion never come.” Fitz added.

“You can open it now.” Jemma said.

Jas and Skye opened the envelope. Inside was a large photo.

“What is this...?” Skye asked.

 

The photo showed them surrounded by crowd of people… they were sitting together, holding hands and smiling. Around them were Coulson, May, Fitz, Morse, Mack, Yo-yo, Lincoln and a lot of people they didn’t recognize. Even Scott was there, in the background, holding up a red plastic cup and looking like he was enjoying himself.

A banner hung behind them “Congratulations Daisy and Jemma”

“Near as we can tell” Jemma said, “It’s ether your engagement party, or a baby shower.”

Skye began to cry. She turned and looked at Jas.

“They took all this from us.” Jas said.

“No.. Don’t you see.” Skye said “That is not like, them” pointing at Jemma and Fitz “that is YOU. That’s ME.”

Skye took her hands and put them on her wife’s cheeks, holding them towards her

“Jas… Look… This proves… We were always meant to be together.” She said as she kissed Jas.

“Skye…” Jas said with tears in her eyes.

“Skye, there is something else you might want to know. We found the schematics for the chip in your head.”

“There’s a chip in my head? British chip or American chip?”

“ _Computer_ chip” Fitz said

“Oh…”

Jemma showed them a picture “It was what caused the other Skye and Agent seven to manifest.”

“So they were put into me like a program. You didn’t know about this DOCTOR?”

Jas shook her head “We put you in the machine, the other you came and went. This might as well be alien technology.”

“It is…” Fitz said

“Not necessarily put into you” Jemma continued “they more… What’s the easy way to say this… It triggered a sort of artificial split personality disorder.”

“So they were…”

“You. You were here the entire time.”

“When I said I felt like I had all three inside me, Scott said something like he knew.”

“He did.” Fitz admitted “His grandmother told him. He didn’t tell you, so you could focus.”

“He didn’t want you guilt wracked by what your one personality did.” Jemma added in.

“I’ll have to thank him?” Skye said

“You’re not mad?” Jas asked, her head cocked sideways in confusion.

“He cares enough to worry…”

 

The abstract silence of an empty world, a city, the monument to a people long gone. Where there was one life, now only the gentile gust of wind. Suddenly, a spark and cracked in the sky appeared, taking the shape of a hovering jet, which lowered itself to the ground, it’s rear door opening.

 

“Are you sure this is what you want? This place is empty.” Scott said to his passenger as he looked over the abandoned city.

“I’m sure.” The man said, “take care of yourself and the others.”

“I hope you find what you’re looking for.” Scott said as shut the ramp and returned to the cockpit.

The plane returned to the air and Scott made a pass over the man.

“Good luck… Steve…” he said he triggered the jump back.

Rogers looked over the city from the hilltop Scott had dropped him off on.

“Hello Brooklyn…”

 

“So you’re staying? On this Earth.” Daisy asked

“Yeah, I think, it’s for the better.” Lincoln said “Mr. Stark checked. My world is gone.”

“Talbot?”

“No. Some girl.”

“Ruby…” Daisy said quietly, remembering the poor soul, how close she was to helping her.

‘Where are you gonna go?” Daisy asked.

“Depends, Scott kept playing that song on repeat on the plane… Might seem like a good place to start.”

“West Virginia?”

“…Take me home, Country road…” Lincoln said in jest as he started for the door.

“Him and his damn video games.”

“You boyfriend might not look like one at all, but he’s a grade A nerd.”

“A; he considers himself a ‘geek’ and B; he’s my geek. He just needs a push for his self confidence once and a while.”

“You’re ok? Though?” Daisy asked him as he was about to step out.

“Stark told me he did something, he sent them something…” Lincoln said “He called it an ‘Apocalypse Journal’… He said the problem was they were so worried about failing, they caused their own demise.”

“We were kind of the same way. So worried about saving Coulson that we ended up nearly killing everyone.”

“Stark said that the book would survive loop after loop, saving the data on what was done. Maybe one day, they’ll find the right combination of events to save everyone.”

“Well, I hope you find someplace.”

“Yeah… See you around…” Lincoln said as he walked out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fallout 76 has been a nightmare, but that song... Still can't pry it from my head...


	32. I can see clearly now

Scott knocked on the door.

It took a few minutes, but his grandfather eventually opened the door.

“Who… my God…”

“Hello Kent.” Lilliantin said “Can we come in?”

 

“So, I’m going to assume you have a lot of question.” She said as they sat down.

Kent just sat there. The woman who’d disappeared nearly 50 years before, the mother of his only child, was sitting across from him, looking like she’d barely aged a day.

“My full name is Lilliantin Mula Forcha. I was born in what you know as the Andromeda Galaxy almost 650 years ago. Admittingly a lot of that has been spent in stasis, physically I’m only about 400. My father was the emperor. He was different than most of our kind. He was a kind, caring man. He showed my sister and I love that most of our race wouldn’t understand. One of our enemies saw him as weak, so they began to plan an attack. We he found out, he sent my sister and I on a ship to get us out of harms way. I’d always wanted to be a scientist and explore. My sister hated the idea of leaving, but she was a solider first and foremost.

“the idea of exploring another galaxy seemed intriguing to me, but, after a century of being cooped up on the ship, I was starting to go crazy. So, on our first pass through this system, I jumped ship. Crash landed in New Mexico.”

“Wait… where in New Mexico?” Scott asked.

“Rowell? Rosewell?”

“Roswell?”

“Yeah, that’s it. My shuttle pod sucked a balloon into it’s engine. I crashed and hid it in an old mine.”

“That night…” Kent asked.

“I kept one thing from my life aboard ship, that bracelet I always had on, it was a link to the ship’s main computer systems. When it started glowing on day, I knew I was in trouble. They’d come back to look for me. If they found out about you and Junior, they would have executed you, no questions asked. They view hybridization as an abomination to begin with. If I had a choice. I would have stayed. I loved you then and I still love you now.”

 

Scott felt his pocket buzz and stepped out. It was a message from Daisy, that she’d be landing soon with Skye, Jas and the twins.

The Quinjet entered the landing bay, with Jas and Skye carrying the twins and a few bags.

“You guys can set up shop in the bedroom, I don’t mind the bunk” Scott told them as they walked past.

“So… I guess you’re heading back to base.” Scott said to Daisy on the ramp of the quinjet

“Yep, lots to do, lots to catch up on, and you’ve got a partner to train.”

“Yeah… forgot about that.” Scott said with a laugh “We’re going to need to find a place for them. I’m used to being by myself… at least for now.”

“Well, I’ve got an idea. Did I ever tell you about my dad?”

“Oh, I got to know your old man quiet well, think my shoulder hasn’t been the same since…”

“He owned a building. In Milwaukee. I guess that means I own it now.”

“You’re gonna sell it?”

“And use the money to give you guys someplace to stay.”

“I’m quite happy here. No pesky landlords.”

“Scott…”

“Alright, I’ll start looking. But I’m not taking your money. The hipsters are all fleeing Williamsburg like rats from a sinking ship, might get a good deal up that way. Take the G train back and forth.”

“Why are they leaving.”

“It’s a long, drawn out story. Tell you what, when you get back, Google ‘L-pocalypse”

“The hell is that?”

“you’ll see. Step one in me stopping rambling. I’m going to make you do your own research instead of me standing here making an info dump like I’m some cheesy comic book character.”

“How’s Grandpa?”

“Shocked, to say the least. I think he’ll get over it. He never really gave up on her.”

“You think she’ll stay?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. I guess we’ll see.”

The pilot started the quintjet.

“well,” he said with a sigh “I guess I’ll be seeing you…”

“Don’t worry, I am not going to forget about you.” She said, giving him a hard kiss before stepping up the ramp.

“Take care of yourself… and call me often. Remember, I love you!” she said as the ramped closed and the jet took off.

Scott walked back towards his office, humming to himself

“ _I can see clearly now the rain is gone_ …”


	33. Saturday, August 10th, 2019

One Year Later

 

 

 

“Why are people so obsessed with anniversaries?” Scott asked Skye as the pair walked up from the subway toward Skye and Jas’ townhouse. “It’s not any of your wedding anniversaries. Hell, if anything, it’s more mine and Daisy’s.”

“Well” Skye said “It’s a year ago I first came here. That I got my life, my sense of self back. Jas sees that as almost a third wedding.”

“So then you have multiple anniversaries in her mind… Why am I not surprised?”

“You gonna be alright tonight?” Skye asked “We’re not going to be home till late tomorrow morning the earliest.”

“This is not the first time I’ve babysat overnight. I’ll just binge watch ‘The Gauntlet’ till I pass out on the couch.”

“You have an unhealthy obsession with that Mystery Science show…”

“I have hobbies. Sue me. I paid good money to help kickstart season 11 and I can easily cram 12 again while you’re gone. Don’t judge. This coming from the 31-year-old married woman who worships Taylor Swift….”

 “ Well, ever since that rooftop.” Skye said “Hey, I like her music, and let’s face it; she’s pretty damn HOT…”

“I really hope I’m not in the room when Jas gets wind of that.”

“Oh.., Jas knows. Taylor’s my ‘the one.”

“She’s your ‘one’ what?”

“You know how some couples have that one person each is allowed to cheat with, or at least fantasize about? She’s mine.”

“Does Jas have a ‘one’?”

“Emma Watson.”

“Figures… and in the future you can keep that sort of stuff to yourself. I don’t want to know every sordid detail of your marriage.”

“Hey, we’re supposed to be partners. I thought we share everything.”

“There are such things as ‘Over sharing’ and ‘Too much information…”

They arrived at Skye’s front steps and she started digging out her keys.

“You know, I’ve come to a decision…” He told her.

“You’re gonna do it?” She asked him, wide eyed.

He simply nodded in reply.

“ALL RIGHT!” she said, trying to bro-fist him.

She unlocked the door and they went inside.

“JAS? Honey, I’m home. I’ve got Scott with me.”

“I’m in the kitchen. Go get ready! Scott, the twins are in the living room, go say hi.”

Skye started upstairs while Scott went into the living room, where little Scott and little Daisy were lying on the floor watching Sesame Street.

“Hey you two!” He said, kneeling down in front of his godchildren, who were on the cusp of turning one the next week.

He started tickling them “How are my favorite little munchkins…”

Jas then entered the room, already set to go out with her wife.

“Whoa…” Scott said, surprised at how dressed up Jas was.

“You think she’ll like it?” She asked him.

“Honestly, I don’t think I can answer that question in a way that can’t be construed the wrong way by ether of them. Quite a change from your usual look.”

“Well the restaurant has a dress code. I don’t think any of them like punk.”

“You even took the hair color out.”

“Yeah, blue hair just, like, clashes with this dress.”

At this point the doorbell rang. Jas went to answer it.

“We’re gonna have fun tonight, just the three of us…”

“Four” said a voice, standing in the door to the hall.

Daisy was standing there.

“Oh… Daisy,” he began before he actually got a good look at her “…You just… whoa… wow…”

“You like?” She asked, running her fingers through her hair, now dyed blond with purple highlights.

“I… Well… wow…” Scott said, still at a loss for words.

“I take color out, she puts it in.” Jas said “Well, at the very least people can tell the two of you apart now… And it’s a whole lot better than that paintball mask.”

“Hey, my nose was broken…” Daisy said.

“Purple eyes, purple hair, I guess purple is just our color.” Scott said “You been in town long?”

“I just got in. It wouldn’t be right if I didn’t come see the most important thing in my life first.”

She knelt down to say hi to her niece and nephew, then jumped into Scott’s arms to kiss him.

“Well, it seems your dear auntie will be joining us.” He told the twins.

 

Later that evening, Scott and Daisy were sitting on the couch after having put the twins to bed.

“That was easier than I thought” Daisy said “usually those two don’t settle down when I watch them.”

“Maybe they just have a hard time telling you and Skye apart.” Scott guessed. “or maybe they just like me more…”

“Hey, I’m their aunt, you’re just their godfather.”

“Well, when I put them to bed, I make’m an offer they can’t refuse” He said, trying but failing to imitate Marlon Brando.

Scott put his arm around her and she leaned into him.

“There’s something important I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.” she said

“I’ve kinda been wanting to do the same thing. What’s up?”

“No” she said “you go first.”

“Come on, I insist. Ladies first.”

“No, I want to hear what you have to say first.”

“Let’s settle this the easy way.” He said, pulling a quarter out of his pocket. “H is closer to D, T to S. So heads you go first, tails I go first. Fair?”

“Fair”

He flipped the coin, it landed on tails. He pulled out his phone and tapped a button.

“Well… here I go I guess.” He said, taking a deep breath. “Oh boy… Daisy… We’ve been together for a year now. And it has been the best year of my life. You’re the most awesome person to be around. The thing is, I’ve given this a lot of thought and I’ve come to realize, I think the time has come to for us to move on from that phase…”

 “Wait… Are you breaking up with me?” she asked in shock “After everything you said…”

“No… No… nothing like that at all” He said, kissing her on the check before standing up. He pulled her to her feet and led her to the middle of the room.

“Actually, _quite_ the opposite, in fact.” He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small box.

“No beating around the bush, no stupid jokes… I’m just gonna come out and say it.”

He cleared his throat and took a deep breath.

“Daisy Louise Johnson…” He said, dropping down to one knee and opening the box to reveal an engagement ring.

 

“…Will you marry me?”

 

She stood still, caught off guard.

“Daisy?”

“You mean it, you really mean it?” She asked, almost hyperventilating.

“Daisy… I love you. Nothing will ever change that. So… what do you say; want to take that chance on me and make it forever?”

“YES!” she cried “YES YES YES!”

He stood, took the ring out and slid it onto her finger and they kissed.

 

“Awe… that’s so great…” Jas said, looking at the security camera feed from the living room on her phone. She and Skye were riding in the back of a cab heading from dinner to a club. Scott had sent them a message to switch it on.

“They do make a great couple.” Skye said, reaching her arm around and kissing Jas on the cheek “almost as awesome as us.”

“I can’t wait to see his face when Daisy tells him.” Jas said with an ear to ear grin.

“Tells him what?”

“Oh, you’ll see”

 

Scott and Daisy had sat back onto the couch and Scott put his arm back around his new fiancée.

“You and me vs. the world…” He said

“That’s kinda the thing I wanted to talk about.” She said, admiring her ring “I was worried this might scare you off, but now, well, I do feel a little more comfortable talking about this.”

“You alright?” He asked.

“Well yes and no. I’ve been throwing up in the morning a lot the last week or so, so I went to Jemma yesterday and she ran some tests on me. She got the results back this morning and, well, it turns out… It won’t be the two of us for very long” She said.

“Come again...?” Scott asked, concerned.

 

“Scott…” She took her own depth breath, then looked up into his eyes and simply said with a smile,

 

“I’m pregnant.”

 

 

The Adventure continues in:

“Agents of SHIELD: The Eternity Cycle”

Next Time:

“Agents of SHIELD: Elseworlds”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SIX FREAKING MONTHS... THIS TOOK ME SIX FREAKING MONTHS!
> 
>  
> 
> OK... so... strange as it might seem, this ending written months ago, before most of the rest of the story. I find myself writing the opening and then writing the ending because I want to set up my target for where I want the story to go. Which is why I got so far behind, the linking narrative.
> 
>  
> 
> How far behind am I? the next story I have after "Eterany Cycle"... was supposed to be published for Halloween time. You know what, it's almost done anyway and not part of this continuity so I'll post it whenever. (it's actually based on an original movie idea I had, I just cheated and turned it into a SHIELD story.


End file.
